Prime Minister Nawaf Salam announced on Thursday the government's adoption of a new mechanism for public administration appointments, emphasizing its commitment to developing a neutral, transparent, and efficient administration.

Following the Cabinet meeting at the Grand Serail, Salam stated that his Cabinet wants "to select the most competent within the administration based on nine criteria founded on priority, competition, and equal opportunity. These criteria also rely on inclusivity, absence of conflicts of interest, flexibility, diversification, transparency, and accountability."

"We want the state's administration to be impartial and efficient, to protect the citizen based on competence, and not to serve religious communities or politicians," he added, stressing that "the government's slogan is 'building a state of law and institutions' and that there is no state without administration."

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The Lebanese State 'needs new blood'

Salam noted that hiring will take place both from within and outside the civil service, because "the state needs new blood" and "youth." In this context, he invited second-category civil servants to apply for first-category positions, specifying that recruitment would be conducted based on simplified and transparent methodologies.

"There will be no positions reserved for a given community," Salam assured.

The public administration suffers from both numerous random recruitments made by previous governments and a significant vacancy of 70 percent in some administrations, Salam pointed out. He also announced the creation of two ministerial committees chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri — one to modernize and reform the public sector and the second to digitally transform it.

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Governor of BDL: Washington pressures Beirut to choose a suitable candidate

No agreement yet for BDL governor

Many positions are being managed on an interim basis in Lebanon, as a result of more than two years of presidential vacancy. Among the high positions to be filled is the governor of Banque du Liban (BDL), which Wassim Mansouri has been heading in an interim capacity since the end of Riad Salameh's term in 2023. The board of the country's only public television channel, Télé Liban, is also operating in an interim capacity.

The Cabinet will not meet on Friday to appoint the new governor of the BDL, as a broad agreement around a candidate has not yet matured, according to L'Orient-Le Jour's information. "The issue is not yet on the Cabinet's agenda," a source close to the Presidential Palace told L'OLJ.