Official documents obtained by the Palestinian Press Agency (Safa) revealed that the ministers of the current government have been receiving “petty cash” monthly, in the amount of $2,000, since late 2019.This is despite the financial crisis that the PA is going through, and despite President Mahmoud Abbas' decision on August 18, 2019 to stop disbursing any additional funds to government ministers, after widespread controversy that followed [a raise of $2000 monthly that was approved)]during the first months of Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh's government.The documents indicate that the government has created a mechanism to circumvent the Law on Remunerations and Salaries for Legislative Council Members, Government Members and Governors, which set the salary of the Prime Minister at $4,000 and the Minister’s at $3,000, by disbursing $2,000 to each minister in the form of “petty cash.”
Effectively, the PA government found a way to double minister salaries while pretending that they froze them.
They also added a "cost of living" increase of 70% for retired ministers.
This is the everyday corruption in the Palestinian Authority. And chances are this story will not be published at all in official Palestinian media.
