Report on Appointments and Their Impact at the Land and Water Settlement Commission in Palestine

●    Appointments and their impact on work accomplished at the Land and Water Settlement Commission in Palestine

-        Settled area: The areas settled through the Land Authority amounted to 61,687 dunams, while the areas settled by the Land and Water Settlement Commission, from the start of settlement work in 2016 until mid-2021, amounted to 675,918 dunams out of the total settlement area to be completed, which is 3,662,803 dunams.!

●      Reservations regarding the work of the Land and Water Settlement Commission:

-        The Commission has not prepared the Commission’s annual strategic plan since its establishment based on clear, measurable principles and standards; rather, a general strategic framework was prepared for the sole purpose of preparing the general budget...! It was also observed:

-        No executive or annual plans have been prepared that the Commission relies on to achieve its objectives and to plan its work...!

-        No clear and systematic plans have been prepared within the Commission to determine the annual required needs for human resources, to be included in the general budget!

-        No training plans have been prepared for new employees to raise their work performance, and to provide them with the necessary experience and knowledge, and to reflect that on actual work

-        No clear standards and defined bases have been prepared for selecting areas subject to settlement according to studies and plans carefully prepared by the Commission!

-        There are no studied and clear plans at the Commission to determine the necessary needs of human resources; rather, appointments are made in a (not based on sound foundations), where the difference between the budgeted and the actual budget for the item of salaries and wages appears on an annual basis, where the deviation (i.e., the increase in wages and salaries actually paid over those stated in the budget) in 2020 reached 100%—and in 2019 it reached 94%—while in 2018 it reached 103%... and in 2017, it reached 127%...!

●      Appointment procedures at the Commission

-        It is apparent that the laws and regulations followed in appointments according to proper procedures and sound bases have been violated in a manner that does not reflect the Commission’s ability to achieve the objectives and purposes for which it was established...!, where it was observed:

●      The adequate legal procedures to ensure the correctness and validity of appointments made at the Commission for some contract employees were not followed, and some were not included on the Commission’s organizational chart, while others were made by internal procedures without the supervision and participation of the Civil Service Bureau..!

●      The need and purpose of the appointment were not studied according to clear plans that define the objective or the expected work to be accomplished..!

●      The Commission did not measure the impact of appointments on accomplishments, so as to be able to take any new decisions regarding appointments..!

●      Employees in service:

-        Employees and workers are not distributed to settlement offices and courts in proportion to the workload..!

-        The available data concerning employees and their distribution across settlement offices do not accurately reflect the actual situation.! And they cannot be relied upon as a source of feedback.!.

-        The termination of the services of some workers at the request of the Commission, without any justifications for that....!, and without any evaluation of the performance of those workers whose services were terminated and comparison with others..!

●      Exceptions in appointment, promotion and confirmation

-        The Commission appointed and confirmed some employees based on exceptional decisions, without following legal procedures...!

-        The Commission promoted some employees based on exceptional decisions and in a manner contrary to the law.!

●      Work assignments for employees

-        Employees are not assigned logically and in a studied manner according to the required work, given that current assignments, which conflict with the organizational structure and the job description, contribute to failing to achieve the purpose for which the employee was appointed..!

●      Surveying and monitoring work

-        The Commission does not conduct surveying work in the areas where work is to be carried out, as the surveying area was entrusted to private companies that prepare the lists and area measurements and provide them to the Commission for review and auditing..!