Posted on 12/03/2003 1:49:53 PM PST by yonif
Palestinian Authority Finance Minister Salam Fayyad has revealed that files and documents detailing revenues from oil products of the PA's Petroleum Authority have disappeared under mysterious circumstances from his ministry.
Fayyad was speaking at a special session of the Palestinian Legislative Council in Gaza City on Tuesday night. It was the first meeting of its kind in the Gaza Strip since the outbreak of violence three years ago.
Several legislators queried the Finance Minister about a series of corruption scandals that have hit the PA over the past few years, including the embezzlement of hundreds of millions of dollars from the Petroleum Authority and the pocketing of $11m from the International Bank of Palestine.
Earlier this year, Fayyad, in the context of his efforts to fight corruption and implement reforms in the PA, took over the Petroleum Authority, which had been managed as a private business by some of PA Chairman Yasser Arafat's closest aides. The bank accounts of Harbi Sarsour, head of the Petroleum Authority, were frozen pending a through investigation into the scandal. But an initial investigation showed that much of the profits from the revenues of oil products had been deposited into a bank account under Arafat's name.
Fayyad admitted that there were many "irregularities" in the work of the Petroleum Authority, which has been siphoning money to secret bank accounts for years. When Nablus legislator Mu'awyah al-Masri asked for details and figures about the revenues from oil products, Fayyad shocked the lawmakers by declaring: "Unfortunately, the documents related to the revenues from oil products - or how the money was used - can't be found. They have disappeared from the ministry."
Masri said in response that the disappearance of the documents from the Finance Ministry was aimed at hiding the fact that "millions, if not billions, of dollars of the Petroleum Authority money have gone missing over the past few years." He called on Fayyad to put an end to the state of chaos in the Petroleum Authority and to bring to trial all those involved in the theft and misuse of public funds.
Since the PA took over the distribution of oil in the Palestinian areas, Palestinians have been complaining about the quality of the products. Palestinian oil experts and mechanics discovered that the Petroleum Authority was mixing water with gasoline and that a foamy substance was added to kerosene and sold as diesel. Since Fayyad took control over the Petroleum Authority, Palestinians have been paying less for better oil and gasoline.
Another corruption scandal that was discussed at the PLC meeting is related to the International Bank of Palestine. The case began three years ago, when the PA accused the bank's chairman, Issam Abu Issa, a Palestinian with Qatari citizenship, of offering loans to private companies without guarantees.
When the scandal was revealed, Abu Issa and one of his brothers fled to the Qatari embassy in Gaza City, claiming that their lives were in danger from Arafat. The crisis was settled after the PA and the Qatari government agreed to establish an international auditing company that would study all files and define responsibilities in the issue against Abu Issa. In effect, the agreement turned the PA into the de facto owner of the bank.
Tulkarem legislator Hasan Khraisheh, who prepared a special report on the case, demanded to know what measures have been taken against the bank and what were the findings of the auditing company. He said that the PA should hand the bank over to its owners and shareholders.
Minister of Economy and Trade, Maher al-Masri, told the legislators that the case was being looked into by Palestinian and Qatari courts, where Abu Issa is being asked to return about $11m which he allegedly took from the bank.
On another issue, Khraisheh, who heads the parliamentary monitoring committee, said that the European Community had earmarked $10m to print and publish a booklet on the Geneva Accord. Noting that the Arabic version did not reflect the true content of the agreement, Khraisheh described the agreement as a "farce." He described the signatories as "failed academicians."
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