In a bold and serious move, the municipal council pursued a transparent policy in informing public opinion about the organization of the distribution of diesel fuel allocated by the Ministries of Social Affairs and Energy for the electric generators located in some of the shelters in Sidon, and for the private electric generators that supply the rest of the shelters.
It appears that the committee for regulating the generator sector in the Sidon municipality adopted precise and scientific criteria in determining the actual needs of the centers and the generators in use, through field monitoring and continuous follow-up of daily consumption. The committee was able to curb waste and ensure that the centers and the generators it supplies received their actual operating needs.
In the first distribution operation, the central authorities sent 33,200 liters of diesel; 18,200 liters of it were distributed to the shelters that have generators, and 15,000 liters to the generators that supply electricity to the shelters.
In the second distribution operation, the Sidon municipality received a quantity of 35,500 liters of diesel, accompanied by a list specifying each shelter’s share. However, the committee for regulating the generator sector scrutinized the need of each center and gave each one its actual need; among them, three centers turned out to need a larger quantity of diesel and were duly supplied with it. It also supplied five centers and private generator owners with quantities smaller than those mentioned in the list, but which were the quantities actually required, while five centers and generator owners received the quantity stated in the list. It was noted that the municipality’s statement mentioned in this section that one of the generator owners received the same quantity even though his invoices indicate a surplus of diesel in the municipality’s favor. The Sidon municipality also refused to supply one of the generator owners with diesel for his failure to comply with the disclosure required by the municipality, and pointed out that the school’s generator tank does not have a larger holding capacity.
"The Sidon municipality refused to supply one of the generator owners with diesel for his failure to comply with the disclosure required by the municipality"
The Sidon municipality distributed 17,000 liters of diesel to the centers’ generators, and 11,000 liters of diesel to the generators that supply electricity to other centers. Thus the municipality achieved a surplus of 7,500 liters of diesel as a result of the scrutiny during redistribution. The committee for regulating the generator sector placed this surplus quantity at one of the stations to the account of the crisis and disaster management committee in the Governorate of the South.
It is a small but important step taken by the Sidon municipality by adopting scrutiny, monitoring, and transparency to prevent any plundering of public funds.
We were in one of the cafés discussing this step and the importance of supporting and developing it to reach all fields, when one of our friends commented, saying: “Do you think those concerned will cooperate again with the committee for regulating the generator sector? I doubt it; because corruption and the plundering of public funds is the prevailing policy, and tomorrow is not far off for the one who awaits it.”
