Legislative Guide for the Implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption(Arabic/English)

In a ceremony organized by "AMAN"
The Ministry of Finance launches its website and
Fayyad promises a monthly publishing of data

As a step to enhance transparency, Dr. Salam Fayyad, the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, announced the re-launch of the website of the Ministry of Finance, where detailed reports of the National Authority's expenses and revenues will be published periodically. This is considered as an essential step in enhancing transparency in the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), and following up on establishing rules of good governance and accountability, which allows ordinary citizens to access information on all the expenditures and resources of the public money.

 This announcement came during a ceremony organized by the Coalition for Integrity and Accountability (Aman), in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance (MoF), on March 26^th, 2008 in Ramallah on the occasion of launching the webpage. The ceremony was held in the presence of the Prime Minister, a number of ministers, officials from the MoF, foreign diplomats and representatives of NGOs.

Prime Minister Fayyad pledged to publish monthly financial reports on income, expenditures and sources of finance. He said: "the MoF will publish this data on the15th of every month, this is a promise we'll keep for our citizens." He added:  "This event is important as it is considered an essential step in enhancing transparency in the PNA, and a follow-up to establish rules of good governance and accountability, where citizens will be able to have an access to all expenditure and resources of the public fund."

"Reform is more than a slogan, and it is not achieved by merely the availability of willpower even though it's an important element. It is a series of practical actions that require a high degree of efficiency and institutional progress." Fayyad added pointing out that the re-launch of the webpage sets a new financial system that links all ministries expenses directly to approved allowances in the budget, which prohibits the payment of any amounts exceeding those allocated in the budget. He also stressed that the system will cover all financial transactions and income in the MoF, and it will cover in the first phase the Ministries of Education, Health and Public Works.

 Fayyad anticipated that the new webpage will enhance the international community's confidence in the government's transparency and responsibility. He also demanded contributing to strengthening the financial system by transferring the financial support of the budget and projects through the unified treasury account.

Fayyad described the re- launch of the website as an achievement that ranks Palestine among the most advanced states in the areas of transparency, accountability and sound financial management. He stressed that this is associated with a diligent work among a series of other serious reforms in management and good governance in all areas, including security and economy. This will allow the best investment of resources, provide the foundations of justice and professionalism, and enable building and development of the judicial institution and enhance its independence, as well as strengthening the separation of powers.

Shuaibi: It's an important step in the transparent management of public fund and strengthening of the accountability process

Dr. Azmi Shuaibi, General Commissioner for Anti-Corruption Affairs- Aman said that the gathering aims at following up on the previous promises of the MoF concerning management of the public fund and enabling citizens to access information on the Authority's expenses and revenues. He praised the launch of the website because of its importance to the transparency of public administration and public money to strengthen the accountability process, through reporting in a timely manner.

Also, Shuaibi screened the obstacles which faced Aman in preparing a report on the reality of the public coffers of revenue and expenses. He said: "In the past two years, we faced problems in collecting information related to revenues and expenses and the extent of its accuracy. We used to believe that the problems happened due to the non professionalism of some officials in not getting to determine the true revenues and expenses of the year of 2006, despite the efforts made with all parties. The chaotic situation in managing the public funds in that period was exposed to us, as there were many centers for outflow and numerous channels of supply and entailed by their own accounts. This indeed has resulted in a disorganization of archiving information in one place.

Shuaibi stressed that participation of different parties in determining priorities and controlling expenses would be of no value if the civil society doesn't have the actual figures accurately and smoothly on time.

 Qlaibo: It's a key step in the development of both the transparency and good financial management systems.

 The UNDP representative in the Palestinian territories, Mr. Munir Qlaibo, considered the launch of the website of the MoF is an essential step in the development of transparency and regulations for the good financial management, as good governance is essential for achieving the goals of development.

 He added that "corruption is not limited to the developing countries, rather it is a global problem, and there is a need for the joint efforts of the government, the private sector and the civil society to combat it." In this context, Qlaibo praised the cooperation between the MoF and Aman, and other civil society organizations to combat corruption."

 az-Zumar: a new computerized financial system for the Authority

 Youssef az-Zumar, the General Director of Treasury Management, mentioned that a new computerized financial system of the Palestinian National Authority was applied. He added that the system covers the financial and control requirements of the Authority, pointing out that it was developed in harmony with the latest international accounting standards.