The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Disabled Lebanese won a tough battle Thursday after organizations working for the community of disabled recaptured their annual share of government funds, which days ago were targeted by a substantial cut.
Following a request by the caretaker Social Affairs Minister Salim Sayegh, the Accounting Department overturned a previous decision to cut government funding for the non-governmental organizations that serve the country’s disabled community.
The National Association of Parents and Institutions for the Disabled and a number of NGOs held a news conference Tuesday condemning the approval of a 16.4 percent cut in government funding this year.
After a heated meeting between Sayegh and NGOs representatives Thursday, the conference hall filled with cheers and applause after more than 70 NGOs received the news from the Accounting Department.
Several organizations told The Daily Star that such a reduction in government funding would have forced them to make significant sacrifices, including scaling back their services and even closing for the summer.
Although the decision of the Accounting Department was the highlight, the meeting, which lasted for more than two hours at the Social Affairs Ministry, focused mainly on the partnership between the ministry and the NGOs, and the need for annual cost appraisals by NGOs in order to inform the Accounting Department of the correct amount of funds needed by the organizations.
Speaking at a news conference following the meeting, Sayegh said the next step was to establish a new system for organizing the work of the NGOs that provide care for the disabled community throughout the country.
“There is no way we can avoid the establishment of a system,” the minister said. “To have a bad system is better than not having one at all.”
“When requesting the funds from the Accounting Department, our [ministry and NGOs] position would be stronger if we had a system,” said Sayegh.
Earlier this month, NGOs and the ministry agreed to establish two joint committees. One will work on adopting an organizing system, while the second will formulate a cost appraisal agreement. The current arrangement, which was formulated in 2004, only supplies organizations with two-thirds of the funds they need.
“After the [first] joint committee debated the new system in detail … we are now in a period to finally adopt this new system, which would connect different kinds of disabilities with their proper treatment and care provided by the NGOs,” Sayegh explained.
Sayegh also said that the representatives of NGOs in the joint committee would have the chance to offer their feedback about the system before the arrangement is finalized.
“Our [ministry and NGOs] cooperation is based on mutual community gains,” said Sayegh, emphasizing the need to provide care for all the disabled.
Around 20,000 disabled Lebanese receive care and guidance from more than 70 NGOs that are run with government and private funds.
The second joint committee, which includes representatives of all related ministries, would carry out studies to formulate a cost appraisal for the year 2011. “The committee will hold its first meeting next week and is to conclude the study within a period of three months,” Sayegh added.
In the minutes before the announcement of the Accounting Department’s decision to reinstate the funds, participants in the meeting had lobbed accusations during a fierce debate on how to proceed in case the government withheld the crucial funds.
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