In Lebanon: Questions arise of Road Traffic Authority employees' fate amid corruption charges

Do you remember the Road Traffic Authority (RTA) employees whose number exceeded a hundred and who were criminally charged by the Public Prosecution in Mount Lebanon with corruption crimes, such as accepting bribes, forging official documents, using forgeries, money laundering, and illegal enrichment?

Thirty of them applied to the Traffic Management Authority through registered mail with requests to return to their jobs as soon as their four-month work suspension period ended, which was set by the investigating judges in Mount Lebanon when they were released.

LBCI's sources indicate that the current Traffic Management Authority, composed of Governor Marwan Abboud and Colonel Ali Taha, vehemently refuses to reinstate these individuals to their offices. The reason is that they are still under trial and were released from prison on residency bonds and financial bail. Importantly, they haven't received any judicial acquittal verdict yet.

Before these individuals submitted their job return requests, the Traffic Management Authority referred their files to the Higher Disciplinary Council to initiate an administrative investigation and take necessary actions against them. However, the latter hasn't made any decision yet, even though it has the power to prevent them from resuming work if its investigations prove their involvement.

The information also suggests that the Traffic Management Authority has contacted the Civil Service Council, requesting legal advice on the situation of these employees and whether it has the authority to reinstate them to their jobs. However, the Civil Service Council has not yet given its opinion.

Amidst these correspondences, even if the responses from the Higher Disciplinary Council and the Civil Service Council are delayed, the ultimate decision regarding the fate of these employees remains with the supervisory authority, namely the Caretaker Minister of Interior and Municipalities, Bassam Mawlawi.

Interior sources confirm to LBCI that Mawlawi has not yet received this file and will make an appropriate decision as soon as he receives it at the Interior Ministry. 

It is worth noting that LBCI's sources suggest that the Minister of Interior leans towards not reinstating these employees to their positions before their judicial acquittal. 

The current solution might involve transferring them away from the Vehicle Registration Center, either by redistributing them to directorates within the Ministry of Interior or to other departments within the Road Traffic Authority (RTA) that are unrelated to vehicle registration.