By Kamal Sanjakdar ----

Privatization has been the secret recipe for all the problems of AUB and the country. Ever since the end of the civil war and the beginning of the "reconstruction" era, privatization has been presented to the Lebanese people as the way to salvation. Subcontracting, Build Operate Transfer (BOT) and privatization of management are some of the forms of privatization advertised as the solution to the problem of an inefficient business. Whenever an institution is not efficient, not making profits, corrupt or wasting money, the solution is privatization. On the national level, privatization seems to have reached advanced stages as far as Tele Liban is concerned. Rumors state that other institutions such as the Electricite Du Liban, Middle East Airlines, and the seaport of Beirut are on their way to be privatized. In addition to the Lebanese government, privatization has seduced the AUB administration. When the University Bookstore faced problems, it was handed over to Malik's Bookshop. When there was a need for a new cafeteria on campus, it was offered to Abella, the famous catering company. Privatization can only convey a message of instability. It reflects the incapacity of the owner to manage a certain facility or to offer certain services. This leads to a complete lack of trust. Can we as Lebanese citizens trust our government if it is unable to manage an airline company or a television station? After all those tuition increases, can we, as students, trust our administration if it is unable to manage a bookstore? The argument saying that those who are managing such a huge budget of millions of dollars in tuition fees and donations cannot run a bookstore simply doesn't make sense. Everyone knows that the Tele Liban problem was one of mismanagement. It is true that corruption and political interferences over the years led the station to bankruptcy, but I think one cannot ignore other aspects of the problem. We all know that the state television did not have a talk show for a long period of time, whereas each of the other private stations has at least three of them. This example applies to the case of our University Bookstore too. I think that making new copybooks or mugs or offering "something new" each week or offering a prize to students who solve riddles is neither innovative nor needs that much creativity, effort or money. The old Bookstore had simply a problem of mismanagement; the administration chose to solve it the easiest way they found: privatization. But what if other important offices in the University face administrative problems? What if the Registrar's or the Financial Aid Offices face such problems? Would we have a private policy of admissions and evaluation of student needs? Needless to say,, privatization offers no guarantees. When the Bulgarian government privatized the Bulgarian airlines, they were taken over by an Israeli company. The Lebanese government has simply no guarantees in privatizing vital economic sectors of the country. This lack of guarantees caused a disaster in AUB. In fact, privatizing the bookstore "solved" the problem of mismanagement by putting it on the backs of the students. The price of books went up like crazy, having a negative impact on the students. The administration promised to put the new bookstore under audit and to voice the concerns of students when the contract with Malik's bookshop comes to an end, which will allegedly take place by June. In this era of globalization and multinational companies, putting the burden on the backs of the people or the students seems to be the easiest way to manage a crisis instead of solving it. Privatization has only been a synonym for lack of trust, social differences and more and more misery. Would they cancel the already poor social security we are getting in Lebanon? Would the Lebanese state lose its remaining sources of revenue and replace them by indirect taxation of goods? Will we still be at the mercy of private businesses to pursue decent education in this University? Let us just hope that during this auditing period, our administration acquired managerial skills that would allow them to manage a bookstore, which would offer books at affordable prices.