Lebanon’s SNGs can play an essential role in the country’s recovery. But the existing decentralisation system suffers from structural deficiencies that undermine public service provision and the quality of infrastructure. The country’s decentralisation framework, dating back to 1977, needs to restructure its municipal and regional administrations to improve developmental outcomes at the local level.
This report reviews the structural conditions that constrain Lebanon’s SNGs to derive options that would make SNGs financially sustainable. By drawing on theoretical research, quantitative, and qualitative data, we argue that a new framework should be put in place, encompassing two key reforms aimed at enhancing the efficiency of public goods provisions. In a first step, the 2014 draft law on Administrative Decentralisation should serve as a basis for transferring tax collection and service provisions from the central government to newly established regional governments. In a second step, municipal mergers and inter-municipal collaboration should be facilitated to improve their financial position and administrative capacity.