The struggle between the Minister of Communications, Dr. Shlomo Krei, and the Chairman of the Post, Mishael Vaknin and the Finance Ministry officials, continues.
Against the background of claims by Israel Post and the Ministry of Finance that the Minister of Communications, Karai, is delaying liens on the post office and does not address the issue, and against the background of claims that removing the chairman will harm the liens and harm the postal service, the Minister of Communications is now answering that he solves the problem of liens and therefore they should have no interest in preventing the removal of the chairman of the post.
In a letter written by Ministry of Communications Director General Maimon Shmila to Finance Director General Shlomi Heisler, Finance Budget Commissioner Yogev Gradus, and Accountant General Lili Rotenberg. The Director General invited the Treasury to discuss liens on assets whose lien would not harm public service. The letter stated: "In a meeting I held with the CEO of the Israel Postal Company on April 30, 04, the company was asked, in order to examine its request for a lien on real estate assets, to provide the following information: A list of all the company's real estate assets in the separation between operating assets used to provide its services and non-operating assets, with the aim of examining the lien on non-operating assets, which, if the lien is realized in the future, will not cause harm to public service.
A list of real estate assets that the company intends in accordance with the provisions of the license to stop using for the purpose of providing the services, together with the criteria and considerations available to the company for this purpose. On May 15, 05, the information was provided, indicating that: 2023.2 Three operating assets were pledged for the benefit of banks without obtaining the approval of the Minister, contrary to the provisions of the license (prior to the amendment)."
Director General of Mishrash Communications Maimon Shamila (Archive), Photo: Yossi Zeliger
"The company owns 26 real estate assets with a total value of NIS 77.4 million, which are not used for the provision of services, and these assets, to the best of our knowledge, are not pledged at all," he added in the letter, "Moreover, after examining the financial statements presented by the postal company and consulting with the professionals in my office, and in light of the financing agreement signed between the state and the company in September 2022, it appears that the company is not currently in financial distress as described in the various applications, And that the pledge of its assets as required today is not necessary for improving its business activity, certainly not at the present time, which is characterized by an increase in revenue resulting from the change in regulation.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, and with the intention of helping to build the trust of investors and the market in the company in order to advance its privatization process, I intend to examine an outline for the pledge of real estate assets that are not used for operational purposes. In this way, the company will be able to pledge some of its assets in order to receive credit without harming the service provided to the public. pledge the assets of the postal company and continue to advance the privatization process."
Minister of Communications Qari is determined to oust the chairman of the board of directors of Israel Post, Mishael Vaknin, for what he defines as "the failed activity of the Postal Company, which harms the customers and the company's reputation." According to Karai, the company is "at an unprecedented low in terms of the level of service to the public – since the beginning of 2022."
He decided to initiate a hearing process. Shlomo Karai (archive), photo: Emil Salman
Yesterday, the Minister of Communications issued a letter addressed to Shlomi Heisler, Director General at the Ministry of Finance, Yogev Gradus, Commissioner of Budgets, and Yali Rotenberg, Accountant General at the Ministry of Finance. In a letter that comes in response to their warning earlier this week that the removal of the chairman of the post office would undermine the company and jeopardize the planned privatization of the postal company, Qari criticized senior finance officials, including its head, Minister Bezalel Smotrich, for "not bothering to pick up the phone to the minister. The company's supervisor, supervisor and regulator, before they decided to send him a second letter within 3 months, all just to protect the failed activity of the postal company, which harms the customer public and the company's reputation."
In the letter, Karai noted at the time, "After several months of examination, I have decided, as someone who is in charge and responsible for the company both under the Postal Law and the Government Companies Law, to initiate a hearing process for the chairman of the company's board of directors, prior to his removal." "Had you not stuck sticks in the wheels of the hearing process for several months, we could have already been in the process of privatization, to the satisfaction of all parties," he said.
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