The Palestinian Authority [PA] is not rectifying its laws and regulations regarding appointments in the public sector, despite the illicit nature of some of these laws, as outlined in a recent report drawn up by the Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizens’ Rights.
The report was distributed with the daily newspaper Al-Ayyam, an organ of the PA.
Sa’id Zeidani, Director-General of the Palestinian commission, told The Media Line he has received positive responses from Palestinian officials concerning the report since it was first published in August 2003, but not many improvements have been made.
Zeidani did not specify whether the officials’ failure to comply with the report’s recommendations was due to their inability to carry them out, or simply because they had no desire to do so.
One of the findings of the report was that PA Chairman Yassir Arafat holds more authority than the law allows with regard to the appointment of public-sector employees.
“We have received responses from Palestinian Legislative Council Members, journalists, civil society groups and from members of the government, as well as members of the previous government,” Zeidani said.
He said the commission met with members of the new Palestinian government on October 27th and presented their findings. Despite assurances that the cabinet would discuss the report’s findings and act accordingly, Zeidani said little, if anything, has been done to rectify the situation.
The recent report is one of a series concerning the conduct of Palestinian offices and ministries. A previous report scrutinized the administrative situation in the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation, and Zeidani said the next report will examine problems within the local authorities.
Sometimes, Zeidani said, “Mr. Arafat appoints people in contradiction to the law,” and he emphasized that these procedures have to be rectified. Zeidani outlined three setbacks in appointing public sector staff in the Palestinian Authority.
The first problem is that some jobs require the approval of the Palestinian Legislative Council, but in reality they are decided on by Arafat himself, without additional approval.
The second problem is the laws themselves, which Zeidani said provide too much power to one person or institution. This entails additional problems, since the appointees employ others below them, in accordance with their own personal interests. Such regulations, he claimed, must be rectified.
In other cases, there are senior staff in the Palestinian Authority who are appointed with no specified laws or regulations whatsoever, which is obviously an opening for corruption and disorder.
Some may claim the commission itself is subordinate to the Palestinian Authority, since it was established in 1994 by a presidential decree of Yassir Arafat, but Zeidani claims his commission is independent and not accountable to anyone. “It is our obligation to criticize,” said Zeidani. “We tell only the truth, we identify problems and report them and advise how they should be solved through legislation.”
As to the response of Chairman Arafat, Zeidani claimed he was unperturbed by any disquiet the report may cause within the leadership. “If [the report] makes [Arafat] unhappy, so be it,” said Zeidani. “We are not trying to change the situation overnight but we have a job to do, no matter who gets angry.”