Using Blockchain to replace the lost trust of Lebanese in their government

For the past week, as a Lebanese, we have been glued to the rightful uprising happening in the country. The millions of Lebanese on the streets have one thing in common; they have lost trust in the Lebanese government, its politicians and to a large extent in its sectarian confessional democracy.

The cause is not centered only on the huge economic recession the country faces, or the fact that the Lebanese currency is losing its value, or even the fact that the Lebanese government were in the midst of taxing the already over-burdened Lebanese citizen. The issue is deeper and far more serious. The Lebanese, the 2 million in Lebanon on the streets today and on social media and the thousands of Lebanese who protested across the globe are weary, tired, and fed up with a government, a ruling group, long standing political parties that they cannot trust. A government where they believe the majority of which has stolen public funds for their own personal interests. A government which they believe has used its power and position to rip the Lebanese people of their basic rights.

While I may not be a politician, I am a journalist, a journalist who for the past three years has been writing about how new technologies such as the blockchain can make a radical and deep change not only in how governments relate and service their citizens but also in how economies, and business sectors can transform and create a trusted system when no trust exists between them.

This in itself is revolutionary, as we utilize technology in the 21^st century as a tool for government oversight, checks and balances. It makes me think that if a blockchain platform were in place within Lebanon, then the Lebanese could rest assure and not need to trust the government in as much as they trust the technological platform that is in place to make sure that the government is working well within its boundaries and as agreed upon with the Lebanese public.  

The Lebanese Government

What if there was a blockchain platform, a trusted, secure, transparent, time stamped, non-refutable transaction, and information network, in place in Lebanon that ensured budgets allocated to different sectors actually were spent in these sectors in the right way as agreed upon by the Lebanese people represented by Parliament. An example that comes to mind is what if all these governmental entities and its officials were on a blockchain, and budgets were allocated based on smart contracts, and only executed to the parties privy to these contracts, then no corruption would happen and no embezzlement of funds to the wrong hands would occur. It would be impossible to release those funds to anything or anyone but the intended party, the amount of these funds as well could not be manipulated because the smart contract was in place.

Even more than that, today Lebanon is embarking on a wide spread privatization strategy, this means there will be preparations pertaining to bids, offers, RFPs ( request for Proposals) as well as regulatory and legislative documents. If the RFPs were written in stone on a blockchain platform, and if all bids came in transparently through the blockchain, this would ensure once again trust in these activities not only by the Lebanese people, but also investors and conglomerates that were willing to be part of this. It would ensure that there would be no influence from political or governmental entities on the process because once something is on the blockchain you cannot change or remove it. Most importantly International governmental agencies that are ready to loan money to Lebanon could clearly trace the funds and ensure they were being spent in accordance with the requirements set by these international bodies.

This implementation could extend onto most everything else in the government whether tendering process for projects, procurement, spending, etc.. The development of the oil sector in Lebanon is one of the most controversial projects in process and the need for transparency is paramount. The Blockchain would be the most suitable tool to ensure transparency/

But that is not the only way that Blockchain can help bring back trust. The Lebanese are calling for early parliamentary elections. Imagine if these elections could be carried out on the blockchain. It is not hard to provide a digital identity to every single Lebanese, whether in Lebanon or across the world. It is not difficult to map out the electoral law on the blockchain. Imagine if every vote on the blockchain could never be manipulated, if every vote was counted by the Blockchain platform, if every vote went to the right faction or person intended.. This would be the epitome of trust being put back into the democratic life of Lebanon.