Deutschland - Beratungsdienste im Bereich Wirtschaftsförderung - 81315900-Advisory Support for Key Reform Actors on Anti-Corruption and Transparency

Context Lebanon is facing an unprecedented crisis characterized by political stagnation, economic collapse, and social tensions. Corruption is deeply entrenched at all levels of governance, eroding public trust and undermining institutional efficiency. International organizations, such as the International Monetary Fund, have tied their support programs to long-overdue reforms in governance and Anti-Corruption. The recent "grey listing" by the Financial Action Task Force adds another layer of pressure for reform. The new government has prominently mentioned the reform of the public sector and to tackle the corruption issue seriously. Lebanon had already adopted a number of crucial reform plans and strategies, and subsequent new Anti-Corruption institutions have been established, including the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) and the Public Procurement Authority (PPA). However, both the NACC and the PPA have experienced significant challenges and, as of March 2025, only limited functions of their mandate are fully operational, due to shortages in staff and resources. Along with well-established oversight bodies such as the Court of Accounts, the Central Inspection but also the Office of the Minister for State and Administrative Reform (OMSAR), these institutions have the potential to address systemic corruption and safeguard reconstruction processes. However, poor coordination among these institutions, political interference, and a lack of financial resources and staff, have so far limited their effectiveness. In response, the project "Supporting Inclusive Governance and Reform Processes in Lebanon" aims to strengthen governance by enhancing accountability, transparency, participatory decision-making, municipal performance management, and the role of civil society. It focuses on building the capacities of key governmental bodies at the national level, such as the NACC and the PPA, as well as at the local level by promoting participatory governance in selected municipalities. Civil society actors and journalists are empowered in their oversight role and ability to hold the government accountable. It is within the scope of this project that GIZ seeks a contractor to carry out change processes with selected Lebanese governmental institutions, in order to build their systems, processes and capacities to strengthen for greater transparency and to mitigate corruption risks. Overall GIZ project objective: Governance in Lebanon has improved in terms of accountability, transparency, participation orientation and performance management. Objectives to be achieved through the provision of services by the contractor: 5 sectoral corruption risk analyses implemented within the framework of a task force consisting of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) and corresponding sectoral actors have been conducted. 50% of public procurement processes have been carried out under the supervisory mandate of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) with information on the beneficial owners provided by the bidder. 4 Measures of the NACC"s Action Plan 2025-2026 to increase capacity have been successfully implemented. 4 measures of the PPA"s multiannual action plan to strengthen the beneficial ownership transparency system have been implemented. 4 measures of the PPA"s communication strategy have been implemented. Lebanon is facing an unprecedented crisis characterized by political stagnation, economic collapse, and social tensions. Corruption is deeply entrenched at all levels of governance, eroding public trust and undermining institutional efficiency. International organizations, such as the International Monetary Fund, have tied their support programs to long-overdue reforms in governance and Anti-Corruption. The recent "grey listing" by the Financial Action Task Force for deficiencies in combating money laundering and terrorist financing has added further pressure for reform on the Lebanese government and relevant institutions. The new government led by President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, inaugurated in February 2025, has prominently mentioned the reform of the public sector early on, pointing out the need to finally tackle the corruption issue seriously, overhauling the public sector, and pushing for key reforms in the judiciary, the banking sector, as well as the most pressing macro-fiscal reforms. Lebanon had already adopted a number of crucial reform plans and strategies, and subsequent new Anti-Corruption institutions have been established, including the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) and the Public Procurement Authority (PPA). In 2020, the Lebanese National Anti-Corruption Commission was established. Its responsibilities include receiving corruption related reports, investigating them and referring cases to competent authorities for prosecution, monitoring the prevalence of corruption and raising awareness, and providing expert opinion on draft laws and policies related to preventing corruption. Nevertheless, the NACC has faced significant delays in becoming fully operational. This included delays in the election of all its members, the adoption of rules of procedure and code of conduct, and in transferring budget funds to the NACC. The NACC has experienced recruitment challenges and, as of March 2025, only three out of the planned 85 personnel had been employed. The public procurement authority (PPA) was established under the Public Procurement Law (PPL, Law No.244, 2021) as an independent administrative authority. Its mandate includes overseeing and advising on all public procurement processes that are obliged to apply the Public Procurement Law. The PPL was applauded as a good practice for a national public procurement reform and the law holds up to international standards. However, the challenges lie with both the actual implementation of the PPL, since procuring entities often lack the knowledge and skills to apply it, as well as the yet weak oversight function of the PPA. Along with well-established oversight bodies such as the Court of Accounts, the Central Inspection but also the Office of the Minister for State and Administrative Reform (OMSAR), these institutions have the potential to address systemic corruption and safeguard reconstruction processes. Nevertheless, poor coordination among these institutions, political interference, and a lack of financial resources and staff, have so far limited their effectiveness. Past approaches of the international community to strengthen these institutions capacities were short in long-term sustainability. Overall, governance in Lebanon suffers from a strong lack of accountability, transparency, and a weak level of general performance, which continues to deteriorate the state-citizen relations and trust. This has created an urgent need to address systemic weaknesses and rebuild trust between citizens and institutions. In response, the project "Supporting Inclusive Governance and Reform Processes in Lebanon" aims to strengthen governance by enhancing accountability, transparency, participatory decision-making, municipal performance management, and the role of civil society. It focuses on building the capacities of key governmental bodies at the national level, such as the NACC and the PPA, as well as at the local level by promoting participatory governance in selected municipalities. Civil society actors and journalists are empowered in their oversight role and ability to hold the government accountable. It is within the scope of this project that GIZ seeks a contractor to carry out change processes with selected Lebanese governmental institutions, in order to build their systems, processes and capacities to strengthen for greater transparency and to mitigate corruption risks. 2. Tasks to be performed by the contractor The contractor is responsible for achieving the objectives and indicators described in this document. Module Objective: Governance in Lebanon has improved in terms of accountability, transparency, participation orientation and performance management. Module objective indicator 1: 1. Number of recommendations of sectoral corruption risk analyses implemented within the framework of a task force consisting of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) and corresponding sectoral actors. Base Line: 0 recommendations (no corresponding corruption risk analyses with recommendations available to date) (10/2024) Target Value: 5 recommendations (01/2028) Module objective indicator 2: 2. Proportion of public procurement processes carried out under the supervisory mandate of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) with information on the beneficial owners provided by the bidder. Base Line: approx. 15 % of public procurement processes (06/2024) Target value: 50 % of public procurement processes (01/2028) Output 1: The institutional capacities of selected national actors to implement the National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS) have been strengthened. Output indicators: 1.1. 4 Measures of the NACC"s Action Plan 2025-2026 to increase capacity have been successfully implemented. 1.2. 4 measures of the PPA"s multiannual action plan to strengthen the beneficial ownership transparency system have been implemented. 1.3. 4 measures of the PPA"s communication strategy have been implemented.