Finance Ministry Legal Advisor Assi Messing issued a position paper on Monday evening regarding Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's decision a week ago to establish a special task force to manage the war budget.
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According to Messing, this directive cannot be carried out because it is illegal, with the main reason being the granting of decision-making authority to Finance Director General Shlomi Heisler – a position of confidence of the Minister of Finance.
It should be recalled that Smotrich decided a week ago to establish the special team in the shadow of disagreements between him and the professional echelon in the Ministry of Finance and in order to expedite processes regarding the war budget. Smotrich's directive stipulated that the team would include the budget supervisor and the accountant general, and that the CEO would lead the team and be a decisive factor in the team's disputes.
Shlomi Heisler, Director General of the Ministry of Finance, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
"The substantial and comprehensive restructuring of the responsibilities of the heads of the departments as detailed in the directive regarding a special task force, with regard to all aspects of budget formulation, preparation, budgeting, implementation, supervision and control over its implementation, which deal with the core activity of the Budget Department and the Accountant General's Division, and subordinates them and their professional judgment to the Director General of the Ministry of Finance, cannot, in my opinion, be carried out by virtue of such a directive – even if it is temporary and urgent for the needs of the war – in view of all the substantial legal difficulties. Therefore, it will not be possible to comply with the said directive," Messing writes, summarizing his 16-page opinion.
Messing explains, among other things, that "the Director General of the Ministry of Finance is a position of trust, with minimal qualifications and with the possibility of appointing a candidate with political affiliations. Accordingly, if the directive regarding a special task force is implemented, it will mean, in practice, much more far-reaching: turning the positions of the budget commissioner and the accountant general into positions of trust."
The attorney general adds that "the Director General of the Ministry of Finance cannot be charged with being professionally responsible and serving as the supreme authority on all the aforementioned aspects, without meeting the qualifications required for each of the positions."
Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich. Illegal decision, photo: Miri Shimonovitch/GPO
Messing explains that "most of the areas included in the team's tasks are matters that are at the core of the activity and authority of one of the departments in the ministry. Thus, some of the aforementioned areas are at the core of the activity and powers of the Budget Division, and some of the aforementioned areas are at the core of the activity and powers of the Accountant General's Division."
Messing also notes that "the team is replaced by the chief economist, who is responsible for various forecasts that affect the budget, revenue forecasts, and various estimates related to the revenue side, and whose activity has implications for some of the tasks assigned to the team."
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