PA PRESIDENCY PAYS PA SALARIES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000222 SIPDIS SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE; NEA/IPA FOR WILLIAMS/SHAMPAINE/BELGRADE; NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/WATERS; TREASURY FOR NUGENT/HIRSON/LOEFFLER/HARRIS; BRUSSELS FOR LERNER; PLEASE PASS TO USAID FOR KUNDER/MCCLOUD/BORODIN E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/29/2016 TAGS: EFIN ELAB PGOV KWBG QA IS AE SUBJECT: PA PRESIDENCY PAYS PA SALARIES REF: JERUSALEM 76 Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: The PA Presidency disbursed salary payments to PA security and civil service members, except health and education employees, beginning January 28. This marks the first time that the Presidency has made salary payments on behalf of the PA government. The PA government disbursed allowances this week to martyrs and detainees' families and the injured. The Temporary International Mechanism plans to disburse another NIS 1500 payment to low income cases (PA employees earning less than NIS 2500 per month) beginning February 2. End summary. Presidency pays salaries to PA security & civil service -------------- ¶2. (C) Presidency Chief of Staff Husseini confirmed that all civil servants who had not received a payment from the PA government in December, i.e. all except Health and Education Ministry employees, had been paid by the PA Presidency January 28 the equivalent of a month's salary, for a total of USD 20 million. Salam Fayyad told EconChief January 30 that security service members had also been paid by the Presidency, starting January 28, a 50 percent salary allowance that totaled USD 21.5 M. He said another payment would be made to them in February. (Comment: This is the first time since April 2006 that the PA Presidency has paid actual monthly salaries to PA employees. End comment.) Bassem Zakarneh, the head of the Union of Public Employees, publicly noted that the next payment should be made on February 25. ¶3. (C) Husseini told EconChief January 31 that the funds for the security and civil service salary payments came from several different sources, including USD 30 million from the United Arab Emirates and USD 22.5 million from Qatar. Husseini also said USD 5 million in domestic revenues was transferred from the PA government's collection account at the Bank of Palestine to the PA Presidency's account there. (Note: This is the first such transfer of which we are aware. Husseini told EconChief that the Presidency had insisted that the PA government contribute some of its funds for salary payments. End note.) ¶4. (SBU) In comments to the press January 27, Husseini said security service members had only received 40 percent of their salaries over the last nine months, as compared to many civil servants who had received 61 percent. He also noted that PA civil servants earning over NIS 2500 had only received 25 percent of their total salaries during that same time period. He said the Presidency was paying salaries, the responsibility of the PA government, because of the strike-ending agreement (reftel) and in order to help ordinary Palestinians meet their daily needs. He stated that funds sent to the Presidency by foreign governments were being spent in coordination with the PA Finance Ministry and that there would be external audits of these transactions. Separately, the PA government announced this week that it was disbursing an NIS 600 allowance to martyrs and detainees' families and the injured. Other planned Presidency disbursements -------------- ¶5. (SBU) According to the Arabic-language WAFA report, Husseini said that the Presidency would make the following additional payments, totaling USD 74 million: -- USD 4 million to the PA retirement fund; -- USD 4 million to municipalities; -- USD 7 million to the Palestinian National Fund to cover PLO missions abroad and in Lebanon; -- USD 4.5 million for rent and salaries for PLO missions abroad; (Note: It is not clear how this payment would differ from the previous one. End note) -- USD 1.5 million to families of (PLO) martyrs overseas; -- USD 45 million to private sector vendors, especially health, education, insurance, and civilian and security service suppliers; -- USD 4 million to national institutions like the Palestinian Red Crescent Society and Jerusalem institutions (education, health, and culture); and -- USD 4 million to the Presidency for suppliers. (Less than JERUSALEM 00000222 002 OF 002 30 percent of the Office of the President's normal annual operating budget, according to Husseini.) TIM allowances -------------- ¶6. (C) The new head of the European Commission Management Unit for the Temporary International Mechanism (TIM) Mario Mariani told EconChief January 30 that another TIM allowance disbursement through commercial banks directly to low income cases (LICs),essentially all PA civil servants earning less than NIS 2500 per month, would begin February 2. He noted there had not been any TIM allowance payments to LICs in January. WALLES