Finance Minister Shimon Peres’ proposals to slice through bureaucratic red tape to expedite projects beneficial to the national economy are being derided by Likud politicians.
One reason may be that Peres seems to be pursuing a shrewd political strategy to exploit strains within Likud and curry favor with Shas, the largest of the religious parties and that one that controls the Interior Ministry.
In any event, the Labor Party leader is standing fast.
This Sunday, Peres will submit to the Cabinet his legislative proposals to significantly speed up the processing of 100 selected projects that require government approval.
Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir has made no public comment yet on Peres’ ideas, but some of his aides have been faintly disparaging, hinting in comments to the news media that the finance minister was “empire building” at the expense of other ministries.
HEAPED SCORN
Ariel Sharon, the Likud minister of industry and trade, on Wednesday heaped scorn on Peres’ ideas from Paris, where he is vacationing.
In a radio interview, Sharon charged that “the worst bureaucracy, the most frustrating delays encountered by projects and investments stem from the Finance Ministry itself.”
Other Likud sources requesting anonymity dubbed Peres’ high profile schemes a “publicity stunt” that would not cure unemployment and economic stagnation.
But Peres has the support of Interior Minister Arye Deri of Shas, whose bureaucracy is responsible for licensing and other processes that can hasten or delay many projects.
Dov Kehat, director general of the ministry, said it would cooperate with the Treasury to reduce waiting periods for projects deemed in the national interest.
According to Peres, the 100 projects to benefit from his plan would be selected by a ministerial committee consisting of himself, Deri and Minister of Construction and Housing David Levy.
RESPOND WITHIN ONE MONTH
Peres’ proposed bill would require all ministries and local authorities to respond to license applications within one month, or within three months in certain cases.
If they do not, teams of government experts would take over from the regular licensing authority and expedite the project.
Another measure pushed by the finance minister on his frequent visits to economically depressed areas also ran into determined opposition.
Peres proposed that local authorities that are financially well off should contribute to a national fund to supplement the government’s badly depleted education budget.
Those funds would be spent where needed rather than in the localities that contributed them.
Not surprisingly, the proposal drew howls of protest from such affluent communities as Holon, Ramat Gan and Herzliya.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
