Ramallah – Ma’an – The Council of Ministers, in its session today, Tuesday, approved the recommendations proposed by the Permanent Ministerial Committee for Reform, which were determined by approving the tasks of the Ministerial Committee and its work plan, and the areas and sectors of reform, and are summarized in the following 10 axes: strengthening the principles of government, transparency, accountability, combating corruption, and improving The justice sector, enhancing the rule of law, strengthening democracy and human rights, enhancing the efficiency and capabilities of the public sector, reforming the security sector and enhancing civil peace, improving the quality of services such as health and education, reforming public financial conditions, improving the local government sector, integrating digital transformation into the productive and service sectors, and enhancing The economic sector and its development.
The Council also approved a number of reform decisions and financial and administrative me
asures to rationalize spending in government departments, and assigned department heads to immediately implement the decision without any exception.
The rationalization included: controlling the movement and use of government vehicles, determining travel assignments, government contracts, and renting government buildings, stopping the purchase of new government furniture and cars, and many other matters. The heads of government departments will be instructed to follow up on their implementation and ensure their implementation.
The Council decided that all appointments, including the senior category, should be based on competition, transparency and equal opportunities. He stressed the implementation and implementation of the President’s decree regarding stopping the extension of service for civil and military employees over the age of 60, ambassadors over the age of 65, and judges over the age of 70, and stopping all exceptions in addition to stopping contracting with retired government employees – except in
the case of necessity, and that two years have passed since his retirement. at least.
The Council also decided to form a special committee headed by the Minister of Justice and with the membership of representatives of relevant government sectors and representatives of civil society, to review Decision Law No. 10 of 2018 regarding cybercrimes, in order to study the extent to which the decision-law is compatible with the rights and freedoms contained in the Basic Law and relevant legislation.
The Council assigned the Permanent Ministerial Committee for Reform to prepare a comprehensive report on the governance of the state’s institutional structure, including ministerial and non-ministerial government institutions, within one month from its date.
The Council of Ministers also took a number of financial and administrative decisions listed on the agenda, submitted by the competent authorities, including: purchase permits for apartments and lands for Palestinians who do not hold Palestinian ID, and covering th
e operational costs of the General Union of Persons with Disabilities.
Also, the Council decided that the Labor Day holiday would be on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, and the Easter holiday would be on Sunday, May 5, 2024.
On the other hand, Prime Minister Muhammad Mustafa presented the members of the Council with a picture of the political situation, communications and international movements towards a ceasefire, the relief efforts to support our people in the Gaza Strip, and the attacks by settlers and occupation forces on our people in the West Bank, including Jerusalem.
The Council of Ministers condemned the settlers’ incursions into the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the calls of the organizations of the alleged temple to offer the ‘sacrifice’ of the Jewish Passover, which constitutes a violation of the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque and a provocation to the feelings of Muslims.
The Minister of Finance, Omar Al-Bitar, presented his ministry’s plan for financial reform and achieving the best distribution of a
vailable financial resources to meet the priorities of our people, while the Minister of National Economy, Muhammad Al-Amour, presented his ministry’s reform and modernization plan, and the government’s priorities for economic recovery, reform, transparency, and governance.
Accordingly, Prime Minister Mustafa requested that these reports and plans be transferred to the Permanent Ministerial Economic Development Committee for discussion, along with other reports related to economic aspects and submitted by other ministries to present an integrated national economic plan to the Council of Ministers, in coordination with the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, provided that the plan includes objectives. Clear and specific indicators to measure the performance of government departments and review them periodically, in addition to presenting legislation related to the plans to the Ministry of Justice for review and determining their priorities.
The heads of the relevant government departments wer
e also assigned to coordinate among themselves regarding the private sector’s participation in relief operations in the southern governorates, and the permanent ministerial economic development committee was assigned to coordinate with the relevant government departments, especially the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, and the Ministry of State for Relief Affairs, to prepare a document on the economic losses. In the southern governorates, in addition to losses in the northern governorates, to be addressed in the next stage.
In addition, the committee was assigned to present a vision to the Council of Ministers regarding regulating the work of companies in the southern governorates, and the government’s efforts to coordinate with the chambers of commerce, supplying companies, and other competent authorities, to prevent exploitation, reduce prices, and ease the burden on citizens, especially in light of the difficult circumstances that the people of the country are experiencing. Our people i
n the Gaza Strip.
Source: Maan News Agency