The fate of the telecom parliamentary investigation

Source: Nida Al Watan

For several weeks, no new meeting has been convened for the parliamentary committee of inquiry into the telecommunications file, prompting the following question in political and parliamentary circles: Has the committee quietly concluded its work, or does the file remain open pending the completion of the investigations and the issuance of the final report?

There is no doubt that the war affected the work of Parliament and its committees during intermittent periods. The extension of Parliament's term also had an impact on the work of the legislature and its committees. However, the committees resumed their activities once the ceasefire took effect, alongside the continuation of the U.S.-sponsored negotiation process between Lebanon and Israel. So, what is preventing the committee from reconvening?

According to information obtained by *Nidaa Al Watan*, the committee was expected to broaden its investigation to include contracts awarded without competitive tendering, through mutual agreement, as well as the costs associated with arbitrary and politically motivated recruitment. According to the available information, expenditures continued to rise while revenues declined.

Pursuant to Parliament's Rules of Procedure, all matters related to the committee's work remain confidential. The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Elias Bou Saab, merely stated in a phone conversation with *Nidaa Al Watan*: "Sessions will be held soon."

It is worth recalling that the committee was established by a decision of the General Assembly of Parliament on 23 July 2025, after 88 MPs voted in favor of its formation following hearings with former Ministers of Telecommunications Boutros Harb, Nicolas Sehnaoui, and Jamal Jarrah, or their legal representatives. At a subsequent session, MPs Elias Bou Saab, Ibrahim Al-Moussawi, and Ghada Ayoub were elected as principal members, alongside Yassin Yassin, Bilal Abdallah, and Farid Al-Boustani as alternate members.

The parliamentary committee of inquiry is one of Parliament's most significant oversight mechanisms. Under the Rules of Procedure, it enjoys relatively broad powers, including the authority to examine documents held by public administrations, request copies thereof, hear testimony from witnesses and officials, and seek the necessary clarifications. Where appropriate, the General Assembly may also grant it the powers of judicial investigative bodies pursuant to the provisions of Law No. 11/72.

However, the committee's work was not confined to the three former ministers with whom the case initially began. The scope of the hearings expanded to include former and current officials in the telecommunications sector, among them former MP Ghazi Youssef, the chief executive officers of Alfa and Touch, as well as companies that had carried out projects for the Ministry. Calls also emerged for the committee to hear testimony from the former Director General of Ogero, Abdel Moneim Youssef. According to the available information, the committee held approximately fifteen sessions by the end of 2025, away from media attention.

The parliamentary investigation has gained additional significance because it intersects with a parallel judicial and oversight process led by the Court of Audit. In November 2025, the Court issued its ruling concerning the Kassabian and Bashoura buildings leased to Touch, identifying financial violations and ordering former ministers and Zain to reimburse certain sums of money. At the same time, it cleared former Minister Boutros Harb of responsibility in the Kassabian building case, finding that his decision to terminate the contract had prevented further losses to the public treasury.

Will the committee's work be reactivated and its investigation completed in order to clarify the truth and pave the way for the continuation of the accountability process?