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 Ramallah,
April 26, 2011- in the presence of more than 400 people and the
participation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Salam Fayyad, and a number of
other ministers, AMAN presented its 3rd annual corruption
report.
In his statement, Dr. Fayyad emphasized the need to keep up the fight
against corruption as corruption affects all aspects of Palestinian
life. He also pointed out that the fight will also serve to erase the
false image, during the past years, that all who work with the
Palestinian National Authority (PNA) is corrupt. That is why it is
important to work parallel on both fronts since both issues are of great
importance to the National Liberation Plan.
Furthermore, Fayyad said that it is important to recognize the important
role of Civil Society Organizations (SCOs) led by AMAN in enhancing
transparency, accountability, and integrity in the Palestinian society.
However, it is equally important to note that this cannot be a
substitute for formal accountability which is one of the functions of
the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC); expressing hope to end the
political split and the resuming of the PLC functions in the very near
future. This he said, would require taking advantage of president
Abbas’s initiative, which include formation of a national unity
government that would prepare for presidential and legislative elections
as well elections of the National Council. He said that there would be
no state without ending the split and the unity between Gaza and the
West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
People Fighting Corruption:
 AMAN’s
Executive Director, Ghada Zughayar, in her welcome speech pointed out
that AMAN was aware and warned that rampant corruption will push people
of the Arab world to rise against the institution of corruption and
those responsible. She added that if the people decided to rise, there
is no stopping them hence making it imperative for all to draw lessons
and to take all necessary measures to combat corruption and to hold
those responsible accountable before they are held responsible by their
people.
A Palestinian National Strategy to Combat Corruption:
Conference recommendations included a call for all parties related to
fighting corruption, first and foremost, the Anti-Corruption Commission,
and government institutions created for this purpose as well as SCOs who
work in this field, to develop a national anti-corruption strategy to be
ratified at a national conference and to be translated into action as
soon as possible in order to strengthen the national integrity system
that is being built.
A new Law on tenders and Supplies:
Dr. Azmi Shuaibi, AMAN’s Commissioner for Combating Corruption,
emphasized the need for a new law that would govern policies and
procedures of public tenders and supplies. He said that he law needs to
remedy gaps related to integrity and transparency and activate the role
of accountability in that regard. Moreover, he pointed out the need for
the government to evaluate the salary scale used for public employees
requesting that a maximum and minimum salary should be set as well as
defining a neutral party to be in charge of special contracts. He also
said that follow up should continue to ensure reform regarding: use of
government’s vehicles, appointments and promotions in public
institutions etc. in a transparent and fair fashion.
Special system to activate monitoring of governmental institutions:
Recommendations included the development of a special system that would
activate monitoring and control of non-ministerial governmental
institutions; adopting specific legislations that grant independence to
the media; developing a Palestinian water policy through activation of
the Palestinian Water Council and supportive committees; and
reconstructing the Water Authority to ensure prevention of conflict of
interest.
Adopting a comprehensive heath system:
Adopting a comprehensive health system that ensures service to all
covered under its provisions in an equal and just way; also a social
security system; codes of conduct for ministries and ministers to be
developed by personnel departments; hold general elections and immediate
re-election of the PLC and local bodies; additional procedures to ensure
monitoring of management of public funds under their control.
State Audit and Administrative Control Bureau (SAACB):
The corruption report emphasized the importance of the Bureau’s
independence. It also defined the relationship between the Bureau and
the Anti-Corruption Commission.
 Dr.
Fayyad and the Budget:
Prior to discussing the national budget, Dr. Fayyad spoke of the
national strategy 2011-2013 and the government’s plan to end the
occupation hence the establishment of a Palestinian state. He said that
many of the reports issued by international organizations such as the
World Bank, the UN, or the International Fund, all stated that the PNA
is qualified, judging its performance in regard to governance and
management of funds, to become a nation state. He added that the PNA
performance has proven to be of a high caliber and, at times, exceeds
other established states in some areas such as heath and education.
Other highlights mentioned by Dr. Fayyad on the budget included reducing
expenditures exemplified by the government imposed support to the
electricity sector. He said that the government was obliged in 2007 to
pay 540 million dollars; a quarter of its budget, due to customers who
refuse to pay their bills. This amount was reduced to 236 million last
year with hope to bring it down to 160 million by the end of this year
and to balance out within two years.
The first speech:
 Dr.
Hanan Ashrawi, president of the board of directors at AMAN, spoke of the
implications of the political split on Palestinians at the political,
economic, and human levels, insisting however that the occupation
remains the main obstacle that hinders development and interferes in all
aspects of Palestinian life.
She added that this conference devoted to the principles of transparency
and integrity comes in congruent with consecration of international
recognition of Palestine as the date September 2011 gets closer.
Anti-Corruption Commission:
Mr. Rafeeq Al-Natsheh, Head of the Anti-Corruption Commission, provided
constructive criticism of the report saying that further definition of
titles should be clarified as whom are the “important/influential”
people or “small” people marked in the report, or, for example, the
number of ministers who lost their immunity on account of corruption;
that he only knows of one and not 20. He went on to name the
commission’s achievements thus far despite its young age, such as
redeeming stolen funds and land which was returned to the national
treasury.
Main focal points of the report:
 Abeer
Musleh, Director of the Research Unit at AMAN, presented the report
explaining that the unfortunately the Gaza Strip is not included in this
report due to lack of access to information there. AMAN was only able
to access information posted on few websites and that provided by AMAN’s
office in Gaza, which is not sufficient to provide a comprehensive
picture of corruption in public intuitions.
The report noted that in spite of the significant developments
undertaken by the Authority in terms of showing the desire to combat
corruption, last of which was the establishment of the Anti-Corruption
Commission and passing of the Anti-Corruption Law in addition to the
special court, it remained clear that there is an absence of a strong
and effective desire among political parties and factions to fight
corruption due to their preoccupation with their power struggle as a
result of the internal split.
The report confirmed that the occupation remains the main beneficiary
from entrenching corruption in Palestine. Also, not holding
presidential and legislative elections worked to marginalize official
and popular accountability in 2010. And finally, hesitation in dealing
with old known cases of corruption was one of the main obstacles
hindering progress in changing attitudes in society.
Corruption in public institutions:
There was a tangible improvement at the level of transparency in public
institutions. General information as well as financial reports of
ministries were posted on websites. Also tenders, price quotes, services
provided, proposals, job vacancies, public complaints, all have been
made public for many ministries.
Difficulty in obtaining information from security agencies:
It is very difficult for anyone including AMAN’s researchers to obtain
information from the security agencies regarding their programs,
budgets, actual number of staff etc.; also absence of one
body/headquarter as a reference contributed to the absence of
accountability for all. In addition, the Minister of Interior, in his
capacity as the official responsible for three of the agencies, has not
been subjected to a parliamentarian hearing.
The report also indicated that the absence of the role of parliament as
The monitoring party contributed to lack of reporting on behalf of many
of the public non-ministerial institutions hence absence of
accountability in general. Also noted in the report is the great
extravagance in the salaries and rewards granted to presidents of boards
and some board members; exaggeration in the use and buying of lavish
cars; increase in the cost of travel allowances; failure to hold
elections and lack of monitoring of reports issued by local councils
enhanced opportunities for misuse of public funds at these
institutions.
Salary wages: biggest area for wasting public funds:
Salaries for public employees remained In 2010 to be the biggest burden
on the national budget especially since the “ghost employee” issue has
not been resolved. In regard to individuals with “special contracts”,
the report showed that most of these people are hired through nepotism
and their salaries are exaggerated. The report also indicated that
there are cases of conciliatory promotions (for more details please
visit link below).
The General Budget is not subject to any accountability:
The report noted that the general budget has never and still, is not
subject to any constitutional order in terms of formal accountability.
This in turn leaves room for doubt on how the money is spent especially
in the area of tenders, special contracts and buying supplies where the
government has failed in issuing a law in that regard.
Ineffective oversight over security agencies finances:
All throughout 2010, no formal institution, (SAACB or the PLC)
did any effective monitoring on the finances of the security agencies
including total cost of salaries or if all employees listed is actually
working. Moreover, the intelligence branch is not subject to SAACB due
to a flaw in the law.
Controlling the use of government vehicles is a positive step, however??
The decision to limit the use of government vehicles to official
business only certainly in June 2010 marks an improvement. However,
several ministries; health, agriculture, local government, finance,
awqaf, labor, national economy, social affairs, Petroleum Authority, are
all in violation of this decision according to our findings; to a lesser
extent; Ministries of Education and Higher Education, interior, and
culture have also violated.
Fear and lack of accountability of senior corrupt officials hinder
whistle blowing:
According to the report, Palestinians still feel that it is futile to
report corruption since the PNA has not held senior officials, known to
be corrupt, accountable (i.e., remain unpunished). Also, fear of
reporting corruption among Palestinians remains an obstacle.
Security clearance-a new form of corruption:
This condition of requiring a security clearance prior to assuming a
position at public institution is a new form of corruption since it is
based on political affiliation only. As a result many people have lost
their jobs or were denied promotion or an opportunity for a new job
based on the abovementioned.
Financial disclosure needs follow up:
No financial disclosures were submitted in 2010 from public officials
required by law to the Anti-Corruption Commission, the body responsible
for receiving these documents. The report recommends a through follow up
on this issue.
Wasta- the most prominent form of corruption in Palestine:
For the third consecutive year the report indicates that Wasta remains
the most prominent form of corruption in Palestine (74.2 in 2010 -73.3in
2009), with small bribes coming last on the list, according to AMAN’s
opinion poll 2010.
Institutions and services where corruption is more likely to occur:
The three most corrupt institutions during 2010, from the viewpoint of
the sample survey taken for the report are: Intelligence Agencies,
ministries, political parties and factions, respectively.
As for services, appointments, jobs, distribution of social assistance
in kind and financial
Civil Society Organizations CSO:
In 2010, few CSOs officials were suspected of corruptions and were
called in for investigations by the authorities. Also, the SCO
department at the Interior Ministry checked the status of suspected SCOs
including charity organizations and referred some to the Anti-corruption
Commission.
For more details on the report,
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