New government policies vis-à-vis tobacco growing require sound and sustainable economic alternatives

The Lebanon's Tobacco Regie inaugurated last week its new administrative and vocational training centre located in its headquarters in Hadath.  The event was held under the auspices of the Minister of Finance, Ali Hassan Khalil, who noted that public administration has the capacity to transform current trends in public service, set sound basis for the relation between citizens and the administration and between the administration and political powers.  He added that this event is an achievement as it goes beyond the framework of developing one single administration and contributes to renewing trust in the public sector, its administration and institutions.  The Minister confirmed that if this initiative if properly accompanied, it is able to produce qualified cadres who will ensure that the state is the guardian of all production administrations.  Khalil added that any new orientation concerning tobacco cultivation should be accompanied with a clear strategic vision of how the state can protect farmers and the adoption of clear and sustainable economic alternatives.
The president of the board of directors of the Lebanon's Tobacco Regie, Nassif Seklaoui, noted that opening this administrative and vocational training centre is like setting the cornerstone for ensuring quality through grounding a culture of continuous learning and creating a favorable environment for civil servants.  Seklaoui noted that the income of this sector has grown and reached USD 1.7 billion over the last three years, 78% of which are net profits compared to 42% in 1975.  He also noted that the government revenues from this sector increased from USD 93 million in 1994 to USD 548 million in 2013 with an average annual increase of 10%.
(Source: Addiyar and Annahar 30 June 2014)