Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Abbas Lies About His Ties to the Palestine Investment Fund

The other week Jonathan Schanzer wrote:

However, in recent years, Fayyad has been sidelined by PA President Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas has consolidated power, and he is now abusing it.

One egregious example is the Palestine Investment Fund. The PIF was created in 2002 to manage and distribute the money and commercial interests owned by the PA. The bylaws were established so that its operations would be transparent, since the PIF effectively functions as a sovereign wealth fund. The PIF succeeded in bringing hundreds of millions of dollars of commercial assets in the Palestinian budget into the light of day. The PIF's operating procedures call for the Fund to operate as an independent vehicle for economic stimulus for the benefit of the Palestinian people. In recent years, however, Abbas changed the charter, installed his own choices for board members, placed the PIF under his full control, and neglected to have the PIF audited by outsiders. Today, Prime Minister Fayyad has zero oversight of the PIF, despite his celebrated mandate for transparency.

Mahmoud Abbas has responded by saying:

"I personally do not interfere in the Palestine Investment Fund."

This is too good.

On February 4, 2006, Mahmoud Abbas issued a presidential decree that gave the PIF a new board and moved the PIF under his responsibility, rather than the PA cabinet. A state department cable discussing the decree states that following the decree the PIF was “now more securely in the hands of President Abbas with a board that is of his choosing.” Moreover, the PIF “essentially acts as a sovereign wealth fund.”

Also, Salam Fayyad slammed the decree, which he said was a violation of the law.

Should a compulsive liar and hardcore conspiracy theorist be the head of the State of Palestine?

1 comment:

Augusto Sousa said...

http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2011/09/abbas-totalitarian-dictator.html#disqus_thread