"Where is the control?" PA Finance Minister-designate Salam Fayyad.
"It's gone. Where is all the transparency? It's gone."
Fayyad, a former World Bank official who served as finance minister
until 2006, said PA financial records have fallen into disarray. Designated
to become the next PA finance minister in a Fatah-Hamas government, Fayyad
said officials could no longer be certain that donor aid was being spent in
accordance with its stated purpose. The Palestinian Legislative Council was
scheduled to vote on the proposed Cabinet on March 17.
On March 10, the World Bank released a 197-page report that pointed to
significant deficiencies in the PA budget. The report said 66 percent of all
spending has gone to pay salaries, with an annual 11 percent increase in
civil service jobs.
Donors have provided about $700 million to PA in 2006. But Iran and Arab
donors were said to have given close to $1 billion to the Hamas-led
government.
[On Wednesday, the Fatah-Hamas war underwent another escalation as Hamas
fighters targeted the home of a leading Fatah-aligned PA security commander
in Gaza City. The commander was identified as Col. Nasser Abu Shawar,
operations director of the National Security Force.]
Officials said despite PA pledges, the government has failed to monitor
its budget, track spending, control absenteeism and complete projects. They
acknowledged a huge budget deficit in 2006.
Israeli officials said nearly 20,000 jobs were generated in the Gaza
Strip since November 2006. They said most of the jobs were in the
agricultural sector in the northern Gaza Strip.
Officials said donor money has either gone directly to PA Chairman
Mahmoud Abbas or to Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. They said that in either
case there was no accounting of the money.
In an interview with the London-based Sunday Telegraph, Fayyad, who has
been threatened by both Fatah and Hamas militias, said the PA needed five
years to gain control of its finances. He said this would include an effort
to terminate salaries to absentee employees.
Fayyad has been provided protection by officers from the Presidential
Guard, loyal to Abbas. He pledged to try to clear up the chaos at the
Finance Ministry, but added, "it's virtually impossible."