BEIRUT: East Lebanon Customs Clearance Officer, Hasan Dib, said in a news conference that all staff decided to announce an open-ended strike and stop working until the bureaucratic method in al-Masnaa border center is changed and wanted better equipment and less bureaucracy.
Dib explained that the border crossing lacks, among other things, industrial research laboratories that examine the loads to determine whether a truck passes. “It is unacceptable that a truck remains stranded for more than 15 days waiting for paperwork and research results,” Dib said.
Additionally that importer or exporter will have to pay up to $100 to the driver for every lost day at the customs areas. The decision came after “years of calls and revisions” where the officers contacted officials asking for the reforms, but to no avail, he said to reporters. The research equipment notwithstanding, the crossing lacks basic equipment. “Could anyone imagine that the customs areas in Masnaa’s crossing… are neither equipped with toilets nor with enough lighting?” Dib asked, explaining that the areas are also unprotected against robberies.
Electricity cuts are also another problem hindering the officers’ work, he said, and power generator “suffer from many problems.” The officers demanded a reform in the bureaucratic procedures to end the delays, and the installing of all equipment for their work and the truckers’ safety. “[We are calling] at least [for] the implementation of the law, which classifies al-Masnaa’s crossing as a first class border crossing,” Dib said.
