In the wake of the increasing talk about the delay in the implementation of the Ramoun rubbish dumb as a result of several problems and obstacles, and in the presence of some information over the intention of the donor to withdraw funding in case the project is not initiated by the competent authorities, the Coalition for Accountability and Integrity - AMAN sent a letter to Prime Minister Dr. Rami Al-Hamdallah briefing him on AMAN’s attempts in order to proceed with the implementation of the project through contributing to the official efforts exerted to preserve public money and prevent its waste and to ensure the best possible services for the Palestinian citizens.
It was found that there is a slight acceptance of the dump by the people of the area. However, there is an objection to the geographical location. The land that will be used is agricultural land (A) planted with various crops, therefore, the residents of the area also submitted a proposal to transfer the site to the east, but the question of transfer may need years of negotiations with the Israeli side to obtain approval as the proposed areas is Area C.
The relevant parties have agreed that the project will serve the local people in Ramallah and Al-Bireh Governorate denying the claims that have been said (indicating that the residents of the nearby settlements benefit from the project) and the competent authorities have provided adequate guarantees that there are no violations of the necessary sanitary or environmental conditions as well as the efforts of the Coalition to activate dialogue and communication between the residents of Al-Ramoun area and the competent authorities, to bring the views closer and proceed with the implementation of the project. However, the process of reaching compromises acceptable to all parties is still pending.
The coalition concluded its mission in the hope that this issue will be taken into consideration by the government, suggesting that the government should communicate with the people of the region and try to persuade them to implement the project and discuss with all institutions and concerned parties, including the financing agency, to avoid the loss of this opportunity and delay the withdrawal of funding for another period, since this projects aims for Public interest by providing a solid waste management service in the central West Bank.
