ON THE VALUE OF R=GAMMA(H) GAMMA(L) AT LEP

We show that the present experimental LEP average R=Gamma(h)/Gamma(l)= 20.795+/-0.040 is not unambiguous due to the presence of substantial s ystematic effects which cannot be interpreted within gaussian statisti cs. We find by Monte Carlo simulation that the C.L. of the original LE P sample is only 3.8 . 10(-4). We suggest that a reliable estimate of the true R-value is 20.60 < R < 20.98 which produces only a very poor determination of the strong coupling constant at the Z mass scale,0.10 < alpha(s)(M(z)) < 0.15.