|
Trending Topics
|
Most Palestinians View Government as Corrupt
(AP) Karin Laub and Mohammed Daraghmeh - The secluded "Diplomatic Compound" - a gated community of villas with well-tended flower gardens built for senior Palestinian Authority officials on subsidized land near the West Bank town of Ramallah - may help explain why Palestinians almost universally believe there is corruption in the government of President Mahmoud Abbas. It is one of the symbols of what many Palestinians think of their leaders - that they are cut off from the people and award themselves special privileges. A recent poll found that 95.5% of Palestinians believe there is corruption in Abbas' government. The PA government hasn't submitted annual budget reports for mandatory audits for four years, effectively preventing scrutiny of how millions of dollars are spent, said corruption monitor Aman, the Palestinian branch of Transparency International. Former Prime Minister Salam Fayyad was credited by international donors with making public spending more transparent, but Fayyad resigned in 2013 amid tensions with Abbas and Fatah. The public has complained loudly over issues of nepotism and disproportionately high salaries for select senior officials, some of whom make $10,000 a month.