Disposition of Waqf Properties in Jericho Governorate

●      Episode No. (15)

-         

-        Through the audit work conducted by the State Audit and Administrative Control Bureau (SAACB), by studying and analyzing the available data, and reviewing the work of the Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs and the effectiveness of its procedures for disposing of waqf properties in Jericho Governorate through an investment policy for the various categories of investors in Jericho Governorate...the Bureau reached findings and violations, of which we list some of the most important as follows:

-        Weakness in the inventorying of waqf properties, in terms of documenting those properties as waqf properties, and the failure to follow agreed-upon mechanisms and criteria by both parties (the Land Authority, which relies on the records of the Survey Department and the Government Property Department in the Land Authority), and the Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs, which relies on its own records represented by Jordanian records, others from the days of the British Mandate, in addition to records in the Sharia courts), regarding proof of ownership, in terms of the provenance of the records for each party

-        There is no inventory of defective waqf properties in Jericho Governorate, and the Directorate of Awqaf in Jericho is weak in organizing and preserving paper files electronically.

-         The Ministry does not have an accurate inventory, with regard to identifying those properties listed as under occupation; moreover, the Ministry does not adopt an approach or policy that serves the purpose of preserving waqf properties, nor does the Ministry have any studies or statistical reports on waqf properties in Jericho and their classification in terms of risks and susceptibility to assaults.

-         Agreements signed with tenants are not registered in the Land Registration Department

-        There is weakness in control procedures and civil oversight over leased waqf properties

-        The Bureau did not find the existence of activities within the Ministry’s programs through conducting studies on projects that can be implemented within the available resources, aimed at diversifying the investment portfolio of waqf properties to ensure achieving the greatest possible benefit

-         The Bureau also did not find any approved controls or criteria for applicants set by the Ministry when leasing waqf properties to companies and institutions. Additionally, no written pricing standards were found to be used as a reference when leasing, according to the nature of the lands in each area

-        The Bureau did not find evidence of effective coordination with the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission to reduce the risk of assaults on waqf properties or on those properties assaulted by the occupation, in addition to the absence of evidence of coordination with local government bodies

-        The Ministry formed a committee to oversee the leasing and investment process for waqf properties in the northern governorates, but the Bureau did not find that the committee has a clear policy regarding the leasing process, especially for waqf properties, through which controls and criteria are adopted to evaluate applications and thus decide on them; there is also no register for the daily applications received, in addition to weak capacity in handling applications submitted for investment in Jericho.

-         Upon reviewing the minutes of the Investment Committee meetings in the Awqaf Department to decide on investment applications submitted in Jericho Governorate, weak effectiveness of the committee meetings became apparent, as there was a large disparity in the time interval between the date the application was submitted for study by the Jericho Directorate and the date the application was approved by the Investment Committee!

-        From reviewing the Investment Committee minutes issued in 2021, it was not evident that the committee provided reasons for rejecting leasing applications submitted by some citizens, where it is limited to a statement containing a list of rejected and accepted applications without stating reasons for rejection or acceptance!

-        Weak are the procedures carried out by the Ministry in Jericho to verify tenants’ compliance with resuming work on the lands that were leased!

-        Weak effectiveness of legal procedures in following up and settling stalled tenant files, where 30% of tenant files were found to be stalled during 2021, and 53% during 2021!

-        There is no policy that crystallizes encouragement of people to make charitable waqf endowments, clarifying this concept and the social and religious dimension of waqf!

-        As for the management of revenues collected and due from waqf properties, the Bureau did not find the existence of an external auditor who attests to the accuracy and integrity of the financial data in the department.

-        Weak internal control over operations and financial documents!, in addition to the absence of segregation of duties in collection, recording, posting, and preparing bank reconciliations, since all the aforementioned financial operations are carried out by one employee in the finance department!

-        The finance department did not disclose the details of recorded expenditures and considered them as a total amount, while it disclosed the details of revenue items!

-        Weakness was observed in procedures for dealing with the accounts receivable for waqf properties, where the debts owed to the Ministry of Awqaf by tenants amounted to 1,839,079 JOD in 2020, rising to 2,092,118 JOD in 2021!

-        There is no basis and principles regulating the receivables portfolio to classify receivables and the allowable period for settling due rent; there are accumulated debts that have been stagnant for years, and no action has been taken to address them, noting that the bulk of those financial receivables are owed by government institutions!

·       Opinion : In light of this weakness in oversight of public funds and performance, the lack of compliance with laws, regulations, norms, and standards governing the public function and the management of public funds with credibility and transparency, and the application of the principle of accountability and punishment for anyone who does not perform their public duty and manage public funds, especially waqf funds...and to fall under the umbrella of the law and stop the cases of delinquency in public funds arising from rents of waqf properties, where the delinquency rate in 2021 reached 53% for example, I propose the following items..as part of recommendations to maintain the administrative and financial work of the waqf, ensuring effectiveness, oversight, credibility, and transparency:

1-    Improve the inventory of waqf properties and establish a unified, comprehensive database of waqf properties, classify the properties, and precisely determine their status to facilitate their management and preserve waqf properties

2-    Enhance property preservation procedures: establish a regulatory framework to protect properties from assaults, prepare periodic plans to monitor property conditions, and ensure effective coordination with relevant entities.

3-    Develop investment strategies: conduct detailed studies to identify suitable investment projects, and set clear criteria for evaluating investment applications and leasing procedures.

4-    Improve revenue management: appoint an external auditor, ensure segregation of financial authorities, establish a mechanism to address accumulated debts, and improve management of accounts receivable.

5-    These measures require joint effort by the Ministry and relevant parties, and activation of financial oversight to achieve greater effectiveness in managing waqf properties and strengthening the protection of awqaf with credibility and transparency.!