Rene Moawad Foundation inaugurates USAID-funded public garden in Kousba

Michel Moawad, executive director of the Rene Moawad Foundation, urged on Tuesday the government to implement decentralization in a bid to fight corruption and bolster transparency.

“Implementing decentralization is the only way to fight corruption and public fund embezzlement, bolster transparency and accountability, and promote local development,” he said at the inauguration ceremony of a public garden in Kousba.

“Municipalities and local authorities should represent the cornerstone of development policies. Arguing that municipalities are not equipped to assume this responsibility is wrong. The government should invest in local authorities and empower them instead of squandering public money on failed projects,” Moawad argued.

  The establishment of a public garden and an event venue in Kousba for only $243,000 is one of many examples of the success of local authorities in promoting local development, Moawad noted.

“For only $243,000, local authorities have managed to implement this successful project in Kousba while the government failed to provide 24-hour electricity or implement a sustainable waste management solution despite squandering millions of dollars,” Moawad argued.

Moawad was speaking at a ceremony organized by the Building Alliance for Local Advancement, Development, and Investment (BALADI). The BALADI project, funded by the United Stated Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by the René Moawad Foundation, celebrated the completion of USAID assistance for establishing a public garden and an events venue in Kousba, Koura.

The inauguration event was attended by Deputy Speaker MP Farid Makari’s representative Nabil Moussa, USAID Mission Director Carolyn Bryan, Koura Governor Katy Kfoury, Kousba Mayor  Akel Greige, representatives of Kousba El Ghad NGO and CDDG along with mayors of surrounding towns and civil society figures.