Aid to PA halved over transparency issue

[Gość: AbdulSharon]

Aid to PA halved over transparency issue

By Reuters



RAMALLAH - International aid to the Palestinian Authority has fallen by half
since 2001 because of its lack of transparency in spending donor money,
Palestinian officials and Western diplomats said on Monday.




The Authority has come under intense world pressure to fight alleged
corruption and carry out financial and administrative reforms to preserve a
regular flow of urgently needed aid.

Palestinian Finance Minister Salam Fayyad told Reuters that donor aid, coming
primarily from the European Union and Arab states, had dropped "by around
half" in 2003 from 2001 and 2002.

Palestinian officials said the significant drop was due to the lack of
transparency in Palestinian Authority spending.

Fayyad said the EU made e10 million monthly payments to the Palestinian
Authority in 2001-02 to cover salaries of more than 120,000 civil service
employees as well as relief aid, but that sum dropped in 2003 to a total of
e80 million.

The EU is the biggest aid provider to the Palestinians, accounting for 60
percent of the international total.

But with Palestinian-Israeli violence continuing heedless of the U.S.-backed
roadmap peace plan, donors are increasingly loath to pay.

Fayyad said he was forced to borrow from local banks in recent months to pay
the salaries of government employees.

He gave no details of the aid from Arab states or their reasons for cutting
or withholding the money.

Western diplomats said 40 million euros in funds committed in 2003 were being
held back until the Palestinian Authority paid salaries for its dozen-odd
security services through bank transfers rather than by cash that cannot be
traced.

Diplomats said the EU did not plan to further slash funding commitments to
the Authority in 2004 but insisted that Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser
Arafat approve bank transfers of security salaries.

"The 40 million euros are available but have been held back until we are
assured of transparency," a Western diplomat said.

"Holding back the release is more an issue of transparency than an issue
related to the present...discussion that the funds (may) be going to fund
terrorism," he said.

Last week the EU fraud squad began an inquiry into allegations that some of
its donations to the Authority were diverted to Palestinian suicide bombers.

Palestinian security officials said the meager salaries of members of the
security forces were usually sent in bags to commanders who in turn
distributed the money as they saw fit.

"Some of this money doesn't actually reach the security men," the diplomat
said.

Israel has contended that the murky Palestinian security services are
involved in suicide bomb attacks and other violence by militant groups and
has accused Arafat of orchestrating "terrorism". The Palestinian Authority
denies such charges.

Fayyad said he had begun major financial reforms, with 40 percent of security
salaries now being paid via banks.

But another Palestinian official said Arafat had refused to extend bank
transfers to all security men for fear it would erode his powers.