The Executive Committee of the Association of Palestinian Local Authorities (APLA) has warned of an imminent financial disaster that threatens a collapse of the local government sector in Palestine. Resulting from harsh political and economic conditions amid escalating aggression against Palestine, the crisis might force local government units (LGUs) to stop providing some basic services to citizens and impede their ability to fulfil required obligations to their staff. This alert was made during a meeting of the APLA Executive Committee, chaired by APLA President, Abdul Karim az-Zubeidi, and attended by the Committee members.
Later, the APLA Executive Committee met with the Minister of Local Government, Dr. Sami al-Hajjawi, to discuss the catastrophic effects of, and develop urgent plans to address, this crisis. In the meeting, the Executive Committee made clear that if the government did not transfer accrued debts and entitlements owed to LGUs for years, the crisis would deteriorate, threatening continued operations of LGUs.
The Executive Committee also requested that the government urgently intervene to enable LGUs to face challenges and prevent the risk of their collapse due to the financial crisis. The Committee stressed the need to immediately transfer all years-long accumulated LGUs entitlements, including road transport charges, professional fees, and property tax. Emergency financial resources need to be earmarked by the government for all LGUs to deal with the additional financial and functional burdens, which LGUs have borne under these circumstances.
APLA Executive Committee emphasised LGUs’ commitment to their national responsibilities towards citizens. However, enormous financial burdens caused by the current situation have pushed LGUs to the brink of collapse, adversely impacting public service provision and potentially disintegrating the social system in various areas.