Last November, the Council of Ministers decided to extend and renegotiate the management contract for the postal sector with LibanPost, which had expired in 2019 and had since been tacitly renewed. However, on July 13th, French shipping company CMA CGM won the tender launched by the Ministry of Telecommunications through the Merit-Colis Privé group. Here are the details.
The postal sector will continue to be managed by LibanPost until further notice after renegotiating the terms of the contract. Despite CMA CGM winning the tender on July 13th for managing the postal sector through the Merit-Colis Privé group, the Council of Ministers requested a renegotiation of the contract with LibanPost. Consequently, the awarding and launching of a new tender have been postponed.
This issue highlights once again the inefficiency of the Lebanese state in managing public affairs. The new tender could have allowed the state to collect $6 million annually, compared to the current $40,000. Moreover, CMA CGM had planned to invest $12.8 million to revitalize the sector, ensuing in significant losses for the public treasury. Notably, the awarding to CMA CGM was rejected by the Court of Accounts, reportedly due to political motivations. Sources suggest someone close to the Speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berri, is seeking to take over the management of the postal sector. Currently, the Saradar and M1 groups, owned by the family of caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, hold the sector through LibanPost.
A Renegotiated Contract at $2.7 Million
Sources at the Ministry of Telecommunications stated in This is Beirut that the renegotiated contract with LibanPost will allow the state to receive approximately $2.7 million annually. Thus, under the previous contract, LibanPost paid 5% of postal service revenues to the state; from now on, the company will pay 12% on all services. Additionally, a 15% discount was granted for public postal services, and tariffs have been reevaluated, since they are currently based on an exchange rate of 1,500 pounds to the dollar.
Furthermore, the rental amount for the LibanPost building paid to the state will increase from $600,000 per year to approximately $1.4 million.
Nevertheless, this new contract must be validated by the State Council before being approved by the Council of Ministers.
Regarding the new tender, which is the fourth one, sources mentioned that a feasibility study and a new set of specifications must (again!) be conducted, emphasizing the need for funds to carry out these steps. They mention that a feasibility study conducted in 1997 by Deutsche Post had cost $4 million. Since the amounts for this tender were not included in the 2024 budget and the state is not providing an advance from the treasury, the ministry turned to the private sector. The Telecommunications Ministry asked private sector companies to conduct the required feasibility study for free, provided these companies do not bid in the tender.
It should be noted that CMA CGM had won the tender last July, almost a year ago, through the group formed by the French company Merit-Colis Privé. They were supposed to take over LibanPost, which has managed postal services in Lebanon since 1998. However, the Court of Accounts rejected the awarding of the postal management contract in Lebanon to the French company, even after a request for review by caretaker Minister of Telecommunications, Johnny Corm. The Court cited violations related to principles of transparency, objectivity, competition, and seeking the best price. It also deplored an "ill-fitting and non-transparent offer, which contravened the criteria and principles defined for bidding public revenues". Furthermore, it highlighted the lack of experience of the bidder.
Merit-Colis Privé France had also won the tender launched by the Ministry of Telecommunications on March 30, 2023. However, due to formal defects in the specifications, the awarding was canceled.
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