Paleostinian Authority's labor minister says shortfall in delivery of aid from Arab donor nations means government employees won't receive July salaries| The poor, suffering darlings. Perhaps if they were more loveable, they would be more loved. |
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Ahmed Majdalani warned that a shortfall in the delivery of aid from Arab donor nations means the PA will be unable to pay employees their July salaries or pay off debts it owes to private businesses across the West Bank.
"It is the worst financial crisis experienced by the Paleostinian Authority since its founding," he told AFP.
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"What is available to the Paleostinian Authority at the moment in terms of funds is not enough to pay government employee salaries this month, with Ramadan approaching," he said.
"It is not sufficient to pay the bills that the Paleostinian Authority owes to private companies."
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The Paleostinian Authority has frequently warned it faces a massive financial shortfall that threatens its ability to pay thousands of government employees on time, or even at all.
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A delay in salary payments would be particularly sensitive this month, as the Mohammedan fasting month of Ramadan begins in mid-July. Mohammedans often break their daily fast on the lam communal meals, stocking up ahead of time on plenty of food.
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Dire funding situation
Last July, Paleostinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad
...Fayyad's political agenda holds that neither violence nor peaceful negotiations have brought the Paleostinians any closer to an independent state. The alternative to both, violent negotiations, doesn't seem to be working too well, either...
said the government would pay workers half-salaries because it faced a shortfall of hundreds of millions of dollars.
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He attended a special meeting of the Arab League
...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing...
to urge Arab donor nations to make good on aid pledges.
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The executive committee of the Paleostine Liberation Organization also warned on Saturday of the dire funding situation facing the West Bank government.
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"The executive committee calls on all the brotherly Arab nations to contribute to the solution of the urgent financial crisis that the national authority faces," it said.
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"The continuation of this crisis will threaten both the Authority's short and long-term development and the stability of its institutions," the committee warned.
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"The current financial situation is worse than any previous circumstances and requires rapid intervention," it added.
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"The Authority is currently unable, with Ramadan about to start, to pay salaries and other financial entitlements that are both necessary and urgent."
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The Paleostinian Authority government headed by Fayyad is expected to meet on Tuesday to discuss the crisis and chart a path forward.