Press Release

The Movement for Quality Government: The Mayor of Shfaram has been violating the law on a wide range of issues, leading to administrative deficiencies revealed in his municipality.

A letter sent to the mayor of Shfaram, Yassin Ursan, to the members of the municipal council and to the officer of freedom of information, comes after an audit report on local government for the 2004 fiscal year (by the local government audit department in the Ministry of the Interior) that revealed basic administrative deficiencies, amendment of which is necessary in order to ensure proper government.
Implementation of the rehabilitation plan: The report uncovered mismanagement by the municipality regarding the implementation of the rehabilitation plan signed between that municipality and the Ministry of the Interior. MQG demands that the municipality immediately implement the plan and reveal of all of the relevant correspondence. Municipality employees' and representatives' debts to the municipality: MQG demands the list of debtors, along with the debt totals, since the beginning of 2004, and details of the actions taken in order to collect them. Repayment of a loan granted to the former deputy mayor: MQG demands to see the loan agreement and the approval of the financial committee, and information regarding the steps that were taken in order to collect the loan. MQG demands that the loan be immediately repaid.
Deficiencies in the area of the development budget: Contracts with planners were not approved by the municipality. MQG demands copies of all of the contracts since 2004, the registry of guaranties and the municipal legal counsel's approval of them. The municipality executed irregular budgets without authorization by the Ministry of the Interior or the municipal council. MQG demands the list of all municipal irregular budgets totaling at least 50,000 NIS which were executed since 2004, the protocols in which the budgets were approved, and the approvals by the Minister of the Interior. MQG also demands the resolutions made by the tenders committee and a listing of measures taken in order to ensure the implementation of the contracts. Employment of people with close personal ties to municipal leadership without the authorization of the employment administration: MQG demands reports made to the Ministry of the Interior, the list of said employees, and the municipal legal counsel's approval of their employment. MQG also demands action on a number of subjects, such as the number of working hours per week (40.5 instead of 42.5), mismanagement of permanent assets and real estate, and leasing of property without a valid contract.
The Shfaram municipality has been continuously breaking the law and acting against basic rules of ethical government conduct. This kind of management is highly irregular and improper. Not only hasn't the municipality, up to the publication of the report, fulfilled its obligation to correct the various deficiencies; it has been blatantly delaying the implementation of the rehabilitation plan, which aims to mitigate the damages caused by these deficiencies, and this has ultimately led to a waste of public funds which were raised for the implementation of the plan.
This improper conduct raises severe concerns of inadequate consideration and conflicts of interests, and represents an assault on public welfare and public confidence, which are cornerstones of law-abiding democratic society. In light of all this, MQG demands that the municipality present all the relevant documents and correct the deficiencies. The Movement demands a formal response within 20 days so that it can consider its legal actions.

For further details: Shooky Levanon, MQG Spokesperson, 052-2860181