The resignation of Palestinian finance minister Salam Fayad will deliver a major blow to efforts to attract investment and highlight the limitations of a reform drive, analysts said on Sunday. Azmi Shuabi, the head of the parliament's economic committee, said Fayad was furious that Prime Minister Qurei had ensured that $350 million was continuing to be channeled towards the 60,000 people employed by the security services. "We don't know if 10-15,000 of these people are even still working or not," Shuabi said. "Fayad is insisting that only those who are working be paid." A report recently compiled by the World Bank said: "The PA has created a serious fiscal crisis for itself with salary expenditure essentially out of control." A source close to Qurei scoffed at the suggestion that the minister had submitted his resignation to run for parliament. "He is not expected to be a candidate. It's all a smokescreen," he said.
2005-11-21 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive