Minister of Economy and Trade Amin Salam announced that the ministry and UNDP will begin work on the Digital Transformation Project of the Consumer Protection Directorate, funded by the Lebanon Recovery Fund, a multi-partner trust fund established to support recovery and reconstruction efforts.

This initiative comes as part of the efforts of the Ministry of Economy and Trade to accelerate digital transformation at the national level, and as a practical translation of the digital transformation strategy approved by the Council of Ministers on May 12, 2022.

The initiative also comes at a time when Lebanon continues to suffer the consequences of economic and financial crises including inflation and significantly high prices in all consumer goods and services, as well as disruption of supplies of some of the most important goods and utility services such as electricity and water.

Salam said: “Despite limited capabilities and resources, the Ministry’s Consumer Protection Directorate has played a crucial national role in the past two years to ensure that consumers, especially vulnerable groups, have access to safe and affordable goods as well as basic facilities services. It has seen an increase in licensing applications from the private sector to provide these services, to fill the growing gap caused by the weakness of the public sector. The Directorate also plays a crucial role in ensuring the timely and safe entry of imported goods into the country.”

Salam added: “The digital transformation project of the Consumer Protection Directorate will be one of the first and most important national projects aimed at digitizing key administrative functions and will constitute a qualitative leap for the supervisory directorate’s work. As part of this initiative, processes will be streamlined and accelerated, with the aim of reducing the time required for businesses and merchants to apply for licenses, improving the time required to ensure the safety of imported goods for local consumption and use, and ensuring that consumer complaints and regulatory workflows are promptly responded to in an effective, timely and transparent manner.”

The digitization of administrative transactions and processes is an essential and critical start to advancing the government’s digital transformation agenda and should ideally pave the way for broader digitization efforts across other government functions.

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon