A mechanical inspection center in Hadath, in the southern suburbs of Beirut. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — Car owners flocked to the Vehicle Registration Center in Dekwaneh (known as the Nafaa), in the eastern suburbs of Beirut on the first day of reopening following a corruption probe, according to local media.
Car registration centers in Lebanon have been closed for around six months.
The centers partially resumed work on Tuesday in Dekwaneh and in other regions across the country. The centers will be operating three days a week and will welcome cars according to their chassis numbers.
Meanwhile in Saida, South Lebanon, a smaller crowd arrived at the car registration center, compared to the crowd in the capital, our correspondent in the South reported.
"Only a few people went to the center today to complete formalities."
However, logistical problems hindered the smooth running of paperwork. "The printer, which is almost dry, provides unreadable documents, including receipts for formalities," our reporter said.
Some cars in the Vehicle registration center in Saida, South Lebanon, on April 11, 2023. (Courtesy of our correspondent Muntasser Abdallah)
The re-opening of vehicle registration centers comes as part of the “implementation of the plan [to gradually normalize] workflow in the Traffic, Machinery and Vehicles Management Authority, and after overcoming financial, administrative and logistical obstacles,” the Interior Ministry stated last week.
Caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said in March that a decision was made to "enable the Dekwaneh registration center and [those] in other areas to function and to simplify the paperwork."
Mawlawi shared a plan to train 30 Internal Security Forces officers and teach them to operate the vehicle registration center's information systems.
Numerous arrest warrants have been issued in recent months as part of a wide-ranging investigation into alleged corruption in vehicle registration centers. Several high-ranking employees are being prosecuted, including Hoda Salloum, the general director of the road traffic department.
Arrests have also been made recently among employees in Mount Lebanon districts. Officials in those departments, especially in Baabda and Metn who allegedly amassed huge sums through bribes from taxpayers, are currently being prosecuted.
Additional reporting by Muntasser Abdallah