Is it time for a government shutdown?

Lawyer Salah Ali Musa

The term "government shutdown" has become part of American culture for reasons completely different from the current situation we are experiencing. However, we can take several steps on the Palestinian level related to the possibility of the Palestinian government announcing a partial and/or total shutdown and/or declaring a state of emergency through a government decision and/or a law and/or a decree declaring a state of emergency in the country due to the economic crisis and the inability of the Authority to meet its financial obligations. Indeed, it is on the verge of bankruptcy in the broad sense, not the commercial sense of the word.

It is unreasonable for the activities of ministries, public institutions and non-ministerial institutions to continue to carry out their work as if everything is fine. It is enough to close our eyes to the facts that shake our being every day and shake our feelings at every moment until we have become ashamed of ourselves for what we have reached. We are in constant humiliation, unstoppable oppression and unprecedented oppression. There is no stopping the killing in Gaza, no stopping the starvation in Gaza, no stopping the attacks of settlers in the West Bank, no workers, no trade, and humiliation at checkpoints until it reached the peak of humiliation and oppression at the only crossing that connects us to the world. The crisis of the shekel and fuel, the crisis of poverty and need, the crisis of debts and loans, the crisis of defaming each other. We do not tire or get bored even though everyone is in distress, and some are still carrying out their work as if everything is fine. The time has come for the president and the prime minister to take a bold, direct and specific decision. The time has come for a partial and/or total closure while maintaining the basic services of the government. The time has come, without delay, to take steps that confirm that we are all in the same The place and the aspirations, people want to see tangible steps that leave an impact, even if it is moral, on their lives, so that they can say yes, we are one body, not separate bodies, we are one people, not influential or non-influential groups and parties. What is required can be, but does not necessarily have to be, limited to what we say, as follows:

1. Declaring a state of emergency in the country, either by presidential decree or issuing a decree-law declaring a partial and/or total government shutdown, or by a government decision to do so. In emergency situations, the government can seize control of many resources and manage them, and suspend the implementation of many laws, such as the issue of loans or borrowing.

2. Restructuring the government by reducing the number of ministries and their responsibilities, such that the government consists of 9 ministers in addition to the Prime Minister, and consists only of the ministries of health, education, interior, foreign affairs, finance, economy, labor, local government, and transportation. This is after merging the ministries of social development, justice, and relief with the ministry of labor, merging the ministries of industry, trade, and communications with the ministry of economy, merging the ministries of culture, tourism, antiquities, and agriculture with local government, and planning with the ministry of finance. After that, reducing work to two days a week in all ministries except the ministries of health and education. This will reduce operational costs and stop paying transportation allowances for days when employees do not work.

3. Dissolving the Wall Authority, the Land Authority, and the Settlement and Water Authority, merging them into a single body, and dissolving all funds with legal personality, such as the Employment Fund, the Cooperation Authority, and others.

4. Nationalizing a number of private sector institutions that have been affected at the expense of the Palestinian people, as the state of emergency allows for exceptional measures.

5. Closing a number of embassies around the world and merging them to reduce costs. It is unreasonable for people to go hungry while ambassadors and their colleagues enjoy the privileges of education for their children in host countries, along with all the attendant benefits.

6. Closing down the official news agencies and merging them with the General Authority for Radio and Television, and merging all official and/or affiliated media outlets with the General Authority only to reduce expenses, including Al-Hayat newspaper, for example, and other media outlets whose continued existence only makes matters worse.

7. Stop importing or selling any products that have a local alternative, increase supervision of local products, and tighten related procedures.

8. Reducing the salaries of senior employees in public, ministerial, and non-ministerial institutions, with a portion of these salaries allocated to meet the government’s obligations. This reduction shall be by law (emergency) or by a decree-law related to the partial government shutdown.

9. Launching and forming the broadest popular coalition of all civil society institutions, public figures, unions, and the government to expedite the issuance of a decree-law and/or the declaration of a state of emergency by forming a supreme crisis management council led by the government in partnership with the private and civil sectors and financial institutions, headed by the Monetary Authority, to implement the proposals and/or add to and/or amend them.

What we are proposing seems to be a path of expansion and revolution, or some might describe it as madness. We say that everything around us has turned into absolute madness, distress, and unprecedented oppression. We need real steps. It is enough to rely on traditions in dealing with the disaster, and enough to think of the same methods. In conclusion, we say that the idea of the bonds that the government is considering issuing will only increase the situation with a new challenge. The most viable solution is to manage the crisis in a different way that makes all those with influence and decision-making powers part of the solution, not part of the accusation before the people. Then, employees will support any government step, even if they receive salaries that do not exceed 50% of the value of their rights. If you are satisfied with the leadership of our people, then you must be equal to the situation, because we have all reached a point that targets our physical existence. We must act because the time has passed, and remedying it has become an individual obligation for each and every one of us. We must survive, no matter the cost, and by any means available nationally. Is there anyone who will respond or remedy it?!