Public Prosecution Activities in Palestine for 2017

- State Audit and Administrative Control Bureau (SAACB) carried out an audit of the work of the Public Prosecution for fiscal year 2017, according to the rules of (compliance audit) which include verifying that financial and administrative actions conform to applicable laws and regulations, and codes of conduct, and this was stated in its annual report for 2019, and the following significant observations were recorded:

· Allowances and arrears

1- Salary and wages budget allocations were exceeded by 1,241,791 shekels, due to adoption of the evening work system and payment of its overtime allowance, and promotions not listed on the staffing schedule for assistant prosecutors who were promoted to deputies during 2017.

2- Allowances for bonuses were exceeded by 20,700 shekels,

3- The value of arrears on the Public Prosecution amounted to 2,237,402 shekels, and 49,639 dollars, and 8,300 Jordanian dinars, where the annual increase in the value of arrears affects the balance of the public debt of the general budget.!

· Expenditures without spending authorization:

4- Approving payment for the landline expenses of the Attorney General's residence and the mobile phone of the Attorney General on the basis of the allocations granted to the minister...

5- Members of the Public Prosecution exceeded their fuel allocations.!

6- There are no ceilings for employees' mobile phones in the Public Prosecution.!

· Analyses at the Toxicology Center at An-Najah University:

7- Analytical services are purchased from the Toxicology Center at An-Najah University, and expenditures of 58,800 shekels were made during 2017, and arrears were recorded for the period 2014-2017 in the amount of 233,550 shekels and 400 dollars, and through the audit it was found in the test center reports that some samples arriving at the laboratory are not properly sealed, or are open and without a label-Label-, and are not sealed with red wax..!

· Cash seizures:

8- Cash seizures were deposited in the bank account without organizing the process through deposit vouchers and pre-numbered receipt books with sequential numbers, and cash seizures that were seized are not deposited daily in the bank, and there are some cash seizures that have not been deposited in the seizure account since 2012 and are present in the metal locker ,!

· Seized physical items:

9- Seized physical items are not photographed upon receipt or seizure to verify that these seized items are the same items actually received, or to weigh them or determine their type..

· Appointments and promotions in violation of the law.

10- Six employees were appointed to the position of Legal Researcher exceptionally, without conducting competitive examinations, in addition to there being no vacancies on the staffing schedule.. that is, it is not an actual need.,

11- Exceptional promotion of 17 administrative employees to grade Director C directly, without announcing and holding a competition and without some of them having obtained a first university degree.!

· Official working hours of members of the Public Prosecution:

12- Members of the Public Prosecution do not record their attendance on the electronic clock, as they record their attendance manually on paper registers, and special departures for members of the Prosecution are not organized, and therefore they are not deducted from their leave balance.!

· Financial payment of overtime in violation!

13- A fixed transportation allowance was paid to members of the Public Prosecution from residence to workplace in fixed amounts for those who work within their residential area, an amount of 600 shekels, and for those who work outside their residential area 1,100 shekels,

14- The fixed transportation allowance is not deducted from the salary of members of the Prosecution when they perform official work tasks outside or external training courses!

· Supplies, stores and personal custodianships

15- Work in the Supplies and Stores Department in the Public Prosecution is not organized, and the government seal register was not organized and updated, nor was the personal custodianship register organized for those who hold government seals.

16- Employees whose services ended in the Public Prosecution, or who were seconded outside the Public Prosecution, did not hand over the personal custodianships in their possession to the Supplies and Stores Department... such as portable computers.!

17- Heads of prosecution offices were granted government vehicles that remain in their possession outside official working hours, as operational vehicles, without keeping movement logs..... and each chief prosecutor who has an operational vehicle was allocated a monthly fuel allowance, without a government vehicle operation system being approved,

· The Italian grant and improper disbursement:

18- Members of the Public Prosecution received fees as remuneration, on the grounds that they provided training for this grant.!

19- Transport allowances were paid to members of the Prosecution to attend training courses, despite the training taking place during official working hours!

· It is hoped that all these violations and observations listed above for 2017 will be corrected, that violators will be held accountable, and that monetary values will be recovered for the public treasury in the event of proving that any party was not entitled to what they received of public money, in violation of the law, procedures and rules, and that financial work will be organized in a manner consistent with the systems, procedures, legislation and rules in this regard..

· Dated 21-11-2020