The Union of Fayhaa Municipalities: How Is Tripoli Trying to Escape Deadly Routine?

Prepared by Lawyer Khaled Walid Al Sabbagh

Specialist in Strategic Studies and Public Policy

June 15, 2026

The crisis of the Union of Fayhaa Municipalities does not appear to be merely a local services crisis or a lack of resources. What the experience of the union reveals, as it brings together Tripoli, Mina, Beddawi, and Qalamoun, is a broader struggle between a city trying to manage its own affairs and a centralized system that obstructs its ability to move.

Since the establishment of the Union of Fayhaa Municipalities in 1982 as a development engine for northern Lebanon, and up to the reality of 2026, the gap has widened between the original idea and the current situation. The union was created to serve as a tool for development and planning, but it found itself facing financial, administrative, and human accumulations that made municipal work begin, as the report describes it, from “below zero.”

From “Below Zero” to an Attempt at Recovery

The crisis does not begin only with the absence of projects, but with the heavy legacy that has accumulated since the economic crisis of 2019: debts, worn-out equipment, weakness in human resources, and an administration trapped by slow procedures. For this reason, what is required is no longer only to develop new plans, but first to clean up the effects of the past before even reaching the starting point.

One of the examples presented by the report is the union’s fire brigade. According to a statement by its president, the union succeeded, through academic partnerships and local initiatives, in raising the number of operational vehicles from 4 to 13. A specialized engine was also secured from Italy through direct funding and flexible coordination with the Order of Engineers, away from the slow official channels.

A New Law Opens Room for Movement

The report points to Law No. 21, issued on July 17, 2025, as an important milestone in adjusting the relationship between municipalities and central oversight. After long years of restrictions imposed by Legislative Decree No. 118/1977, the new law granted municipal councils and municipal unions broader financial capacity to act.

In a country suffering from inflation and the depreciation of the currency, these figures are no longer an administrative luxury, but a condition for the continuity of public services.

Positive Circumvention of Central Paralysis

When central administration turns into an obstacle to development, the search for alternative paths becomes a practical necessity. For this reason, the report presents what it calls “systematic positive circumvention,” meaning the channeling of funding and implementation through more flexible channels, such as international organizations, civil society, and the private sector.

These models attempt to rebuild trust between citizens and the municipal institution after years of decline and unfulfilled promises.

Tripoli Emergency Fund: Different Governance in the Building Crisis

With the building-collapse crisis at the beginning of 2026, which threatened more than 105 buildings with immediate evacuation, the City Support Fund, or Tripoli Emergency Fund, emerged as a different response mechanism.

According to the report, this fund does not represent a temporary relief initiative only, but rather a model for testing stricter and more transparent governance tools. It relies on the “blind evaluation” mechanism, whereby engineering surveys of buildings are carried out without revealing the owners’ identities to the examining engineers, with the aim of reducing favoritism and ensuring neutrality.

These mechanisms aim to build the trust of local and international donors and ensure that funds reach the right place.

The Waste Crisis: When the Plan Is Not Enough

In the solid waste file, the crisis appears in a different form. The operating contract signed with Lavajet dates back to 1998, meaning it is an old contract that can no longer keep up with population growth that has approached 60%.

But the problem does not stop at the contract or funding. According to the report, the union is facing what it calls “social thuggery,” meaning the obstruction of fieldwork by groups outside the law that use threats and assaults.

Here, the crisis becomes both environmental and security-related at the same time. When law-abiding citizens feel that the state does not protect order, they may begin to imitate the behavior of those who violate it. For this reason, the report considers that imposing legitimate security protection is a basic condition before implementing any environmental or administrative plan.

A Roadmap for Recovery

The report proposes three practical steps to move out of the state of paralysis.

Can Fayhaa Become a Model?

The report does not present the Union of Fayhaa Municipalities as a complete or ideal model, but rather as an experience trying to operate within a disabled system. The value of this experience lies in the fact that it does not wait only for central solutions, but searches for local, flexible, and implementable tools.

The basic question is no longer: can Tripoli rise again? Rather, it has become: can the Fayhaa model, through independent funds, practical decentralization, and direct partnerships, serve as an entry point for rethinking the administration of the state itself?