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PA Income Down 60 Percent Since Hamas Took Power

[AP/International Herald Tribune] The Palestinian Authority's income fell by 60 percent after Hamas took power in March, even as the government payroll expanded, creating an increasingly unsustainable situation, the International Monetary Fund reported Wednesday. Between April and September, the government took in just $500 million, down from more than $1.2 billion in the same period in 2005. The report said the number of PA civil servants grew by 5,400 this year, to more than 142,000 in mid-June. Most of the hiring took place in the security services, and some 20,000 new recruits are currently being trained and could be added to the payroll in the future. It now costs about $100 million a month to cover salaries for government workers, compared to about $80 million a month in mid-2005. The increase is also due to a generous across-the-board pay increase in late 2005. Economist Samir Hleileh, who served as Palestinian Cabinet secretary before Hamas came to power, warned that the current system of payments is setting back years of financial reform carried out by former Finance Minister Salam Fayyad, who had set up a single Treasury account to clean up rampant mismanagement and corruption.
2006-11-02 01:00:00
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