The Movement for Quality Government saves money for the public; in cases of public money wasted or spent unlawfully, the Movement ensures its refunding!

Here are examples for the Movement’s success in cases of saving money for the public cash register and of returning money to it:

(Updated: January 2018)

Investments Center	The Movement’s petition caused the cancellation of the phenomenon by which private companies received grants from the Economy Ministry’s Investments Center despite the fact of these companies’ failure to fulfill their commitments and the Economy Ministry’s active demand of companies that conducted similarly to return the grants given to them.	Debt Returning: 29.6 million   Cancellation of Phenomenon: 200 million
Coca Cola	The Movement’s petition caused the cancellation of a grant agreed by the Economy Ministry to be given to this company albeit its failure to comply with the criteria for the grant.	65 million
The Salt Lands	The Movement’s petition, and about ten years of its discussing the subject, brought about the change of conditions of the deal between Israel land Administration and the Dankner family concerning the Salt Lands. By this deal, the Dankners were supposed to earn hundreds of millions due to changing the lands’ designation to residential. The Movement caused the original agreement’s cancellation, which means profit for the public cash register.	550 million
Oil Refineries Ltd.	The Movement’s petition against prolonging the concession caused to resume the negotiation between the State and ORL (owned by Ofer family). Consequently, the agreement had been changed so that a larger sum was transferred to the State in return for the concession.	90 million
El Hamaayan (Shass Party’s education network)	The Movement petitioned against doubling (in retrospect) the association’s budget to ILS 14 million, emphasizing the fear that this money was accepted due to false reports concerning the number of students. Consequently, an appointed accountant executed comprehensive inspections by which the sums given unlawfully to the association were retrieved.	7.8 million
Yeshivot‘s False Reports	The Movement’s petition caused the refunding of money transferred to Yeshivot according to false reports of students’ numbers. The petition also brought about the invalidating of some associations that were regular with false reports. So ended the vast phenomenon of pulling tens of millions ILS out of the State budget each year.	1 billion & 105 million (about 85 million yearly over 13 years)
Rotem Plain Power Station	A Movement’s petition against a calculation error in a tender won by a company owned by Ofer family: paradoxically, though the State admitted the mistake, government ministries argued about which of them had to be blamed but refused to announce the bonus’s cancellation! Only by our addressing the court was the error acknowledged, the tender’s conditions fitted and the bonus cancelled.	130 million
Ramat Hovav Power Station	Following the Movement’s demand, Israel Electric Corporation acted for foreclosing the bank guarantee given to it by Ofer family according to their mutual contract.	5 million
Wage and Pension Deviations in the Ports	Following the Movement’s demand, a checkup of the Israeli sea ports financial conduct caused the refunding of unlawfully drawn money due to wage and pension deviations.	7.6 million
Minister of Religious Services Margi’s Pension	While serving as a minister, Margi continued receiving pension money due to his former position in Beer Sheva’s religion Council – this, without any legal confirmation. The Movement’s demand to refund this money brought about an agreement according to which part of the sums were returned.	40,000
Prevention of Appointing an Inexperienced CEO for a Period of Accumulating Experience	Deciding to appoint an unsuitable candidate to the position of Ministry of Science CEO, the government intended to grant him a six-month experience accumulating term in an inessential position in order to eventually define him fit for this CEO position. In its verdict the High Court of Justice cancelled the appointment, making it clear that no format of experience accumulating will be paid for with public money.	192,000
Sum Total		2 billion & 190 million

 

In treatment … more monies are still to be dealt with. Here are some examples out of the many struggles:

• The Ottoman Societies – These organizations (e.g. KKL – Jewish National Fund, Histadrut – General Organization of Workers, health insurance companies), that have vast access to billions of the public money, still are not committed to even minimal standards of transparency and proper administration.

 

• The Stock Exchange – not a gift for the banks! – The Movement has been struggling to amend the legislation so that the banks’ monopoly on the Stock Exchange will not be fixed. This monopoly means a gift worth billions on the account of the public.

 

The Movement’s Transverse Achievements in Economical Issues

 

• The Banking Reform – The committee discussing this issue has accepted many of the Movement’s recommendations, this way generating the reduction of centralization in the banking market. Inter alia, the two largest banks had to sell the credit companies they owned and will not be permitted to deal with the credit cards market anymore. This step will increase competition, reduce centralization, and lower significantly the public’s payments to the banks. Other recommendations accepted: fitting regulation for new and small banks, applying deposit insurance, allocating money of long-term savings as credit for households, and simplifying the procedure of closing bank accounts.

 

• The Gas Layout – The Movement’s petition generated the cancellation of the law’s article that would have fixed the gas monopoly for years and so denies the Government and the Knesset the ability of guarding the public interest versus the gas companies.

 

 

• Israel Chemicals Ltd. and the Law for Encouragement of Capital Investments – A professional committee determined the necessity of amending this law so as to put an end to the absurd situation by which ICL – owned by Ofer family – received nearly ILS half a billion each year! The company put heavy pressure on KMs and the Ministry of Finance in order to prevent this amendment, however the Movement’s and other factors’ intensive efforts eventually caused the completion of the legislation and by this to save the public cash register billions of Shekels.

 

• Nature Resources – Following Sheshinski Committee’s conclusions, the scope of royalties transferred to the public from factors using nature resources increased by dozens of percents. The Movement appeared in front of all relevant factors, formulated professional positions, and administered vast public campaign. Upon accepting the committee’s conclusions, its chairman Prof. Sheshinski personally thanked the Movement for its enormous part in repulsing the pressures and in blocking the actions of companies trying to disrupt the committee’s proper conduct.

 

 

• Reducing the Market’s Centralization – As of couple of years ago to this very day, the Movement has been leading the struggle against centralization that strangles the Israeli market. At the time of the struggle’s outset, there were still those who denied the centralization problem, so that the Movement’s activity helped a lot in bringing the issue forth to the public awareness. The Movement also urged to establish a professional committee designated to handle the centralization issue. It also accompanied rather closely the discussion held by the Knesset Finance Committee and the committees for formulating the bill. The Movement’s activity contributed a lot both to passing the law and to its final format. Eventually, this law benefitted the Israeli market to a great extent.

 

• Terminating the Agreement of Allocating Agricultural Grants to Persons Who Are Not Farmers – For dozens of years, under the nicely-phrased slogan “Supporting the Farmers”, had been hidden quite a strange arrangement of allocating yearly millions of shekels of State money to persons included in a certain list. This list, prepared more than 20 years ago, comprised individuals who at that time had been engaged in poultry breeding. Over the time, many of them have left this occupation and part of them bequeathed or even sold (!) their grants, but still continued receiving the grants. This way a group of people – who have nothing to do with agriculture – has received millions from the State at the same time that true farmers are collapsing. The Movement’s activity comprised a comprehensive research: formulating a professional and detailed position paper, intensive action directed toward KMs, public and media struggle. This activity proved to be highly successful: the absurd arrangement was terminated.

 

 

• Fighting the Cost of Living – The Movement has been dealing with the cost of living problem in many ways in addition to the accepted centralization law that is expected to advance a reduction in the cost of living. Inter alia, the Antitrust Authority accepted the Movement’s position and ruled that charging payments in excess by a monopoly will be considered abuse of monopolistic power with all the legal meaning of this matter. * The Movement’s petition generated the reduction of admission fee for nature sites such as mountain Hermon. * There was also success regarding agriculture: after a long period of the Movement’s actions against the archaic and redundant production councils – that cut their share simultaneously with high agricultural products prices on the one side and collapsing farmers on the other – the Agriculture Ministry announced the cancellation of the Plant Council.

 

• The Capital Market – The movement succeeded in: *Preventing the raise of commissions charged by the banks from the public. *Preventing the appointments of Bank Leumi directors who were supposed to be in the state of conflict of interests. *Influencing significantly the recommendations of Andorn Committee for fighting the debt arrangements (Haircuts) to treat such issues more fiercely. *Generating the establishing of a committee for investigation of the failures regarding I.D.B. case.

 

 

• Transparency and Proper administration – The Movement’s activity regarding economical issues comprises, among others, struggles for applying transparency and proper administration also to financial conduct. The legal, parliamentary and public actions of the Movement succeeded in generating considerable achievements in these issues over the years: transparency of the State Budget report; publicizing explanations to the Government’s decisions; Limiting the sums ministers can get as refunds for staying abroad.

Publicizing yearly the Embezzlements in the Banking System report; publicizing names of candidates for directorships in government companies.

And more successes in other subjects…