The population of the new city of Harish, located in the Menashe Regional Council, is not rising at the desired rate, and this is not surprising.
According to the State Comptroller's report from Netanyahu Engelman, as of the end of 2020, the locality numbered only about 22,000 residents, compared to the Ministry of Housing's ambitious forecast of 57,000 residents that year. A thousand residents as of today, still far from the government vision.
So why is the new city populated lazily?
From the State Comptroller's report, it can be concluded that there are two main reasons for this - the lack of employment areas and the lack of transportation solutions in the area. Of a built-in budget deficit, "the report said.
"Built-in deficit in the current budget."
The Comptroller from Netanyahu Engelman, Photo:: Oren Ben Hakon
The auditor notes in the affirmative that the follow-up audit revealed that the Harish Local Council corrected most of the deficiencies that arose in the previous report and were examined in the follow-up audit.
Employment areas
The previous audit stated that Harish's master plans did not allocate space for an employment area, and that until the end of the previous audit, in February 2016, approximately 53,865 square meters for commerce and 183,615 square meters for employment were approved in the detailed plans for the city neighborhoods, which could impair its growth and development. Of the city and leave a deficit over the years.
As of the end date of the audit, there is a shortage of approximately 143 square meters of income-producing employment space.
Providing transportation solutions
The previous audit revealed that despite the immediate need to pave the new Road 444 (from the Harish junction to the connection with Road 9) and Road 611, which will provide a transport solution for traffic in the Harish area in 2020, only the Ministry of Housing and the Ministry of Transport approved their design.
The follow-up audit revealed that there has been some progress in creating a transportation solution for Harish residents, but the transportation projects have not yet been completed and no decision has yet been made regarding connecting Harish directly to Highway Six.
The auditor also notes in his report that in accordance with the Council's audited financial statements in 2016-2019, it ended the year with a budget surplus of approximately NIS 41 million after receiving grants from the state.
However, without receiving the grants, the council had a budget deficit in each of those years and a cumulative amount of about NIS 67 million.
According to the council's data, the deficit at the end of 2020 was about NIS 16.3 million.
In the same year, the council received grants in the framework of the stabilization program in the amount of NIS 6.5 million.
The stabilization plan prepared by the Ministry of the Interior, the grants awarded and the surpluses accumulated by the Harish local council in the budget assisted the council in the years of operation of the program and even in 2020, but the built-in budget deficit is not addressed. Because you will not be able to carry out its day-to-day operations and provide the best services to its residents.
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