Palestinian Authority fails to meet minimum fiscal transparency - US State Dept

Published: SEPTEMBER 19, 2024 21:03

PA HEAD Mahmoud Abbas attends the World Economic Forum in Riyadh, last month. To rely on Abbas’s corrupt, impotent, poisonous, and terror-glorifying Palestinian Authority as a ruling alternative to Hamas would be insane, the writer argues. (photo credit: HAMAD I MOHAMMED/REUTERS) — PA HEAD Mahmoud Abbas attends the World Economic Forum in Riyadh, last month. To rely on Abbas’s corrupt, impotent, poisonous, and terror-glorifying Palestinian Authority as a ruling alternative to Hamas would be insane, the writer argues.

(photo credit: HAMAD I MOHAMMED/REUTERS)

According to the report, the PA provided incomplete information on debt obligations, including for PA-owned businesses.

The Palestinian Authority did not meet the minimum requirements of fiscal transparency and made no significant progress, the US State Department revealed in its 2024 Fiscal Transparency Report on Thursday.

Of the 139 governments studied, 68 did not meet the minimum fiscal transparency requirements. Israel met the requirements.

While the report says that the PA did make its enacted budget public, the data was incomplete and not approved by the legislature. It also did not make public its executive budget proposal or end of year report by the deadline.

According to the report, the PA provided incomplete information on debt obligations, including for PA-owned businesses.

However, the State Department said the PA did provide a mostly full picture of revenues and expenditures.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets PA head Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, in February. The US mistakenly thinks that giving Palestinian leaders a vision for the future of two states will do away with the Palestinian desire to eliminate Israel, says the writer. (credit: Mark Schiefelbein/Reuters)

Suggested improvements

They asked the PA to take the following steps to improve fiscal transparency: Making its executive budget proposal, complete enacted budget, and end-of-year report publicly available within a reasonable period; Publishing information on debt obligations; Providing in budget documents a substantially complete picture of detailed revenues and expenditures for all PA ministries and institutions; Ensuring the supreme audit institution meets international standards of independence.

While the PA did not meet minimum requirements in the 2023 report, they were deemed last year to have made significant progress.