Site tracks Trajtenberg's successes, failures

Government services minister works with NGO to track progress on committee’s 138 recommendations for social change.

By LAHAV HARKOV
Michael Eitan (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post)
Michael Eitan
(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post)
Government Services Minister Michael Eitan seems to have taken on the opposition’s job, cooperating with NGOs to point out the government’s weaknesses in social policies following last summer’s tent protests, all in the name of transparency.
While the committee led by Prime Minister’s Office director-general Harel Locker to track government progress on the Trajtenberg Committee for Social Change’s recommendations has not met once, Eitan’s ministry and the NGO The Public Information Workshop, PIW, have launched on Wednesday a detailed website that follows the government’s every move on the matter.
The site, watch.gov.il, lists all of economist Manuel Trajtenberg’s recommendations in topics such as employment, housing and early childhood education, describing the government’s efforts, successes and failures on each measure.
Of 138 recommendations, 25 have been implemented, including tax breaks, discounts on public transportation for students and enforcement of labor laws, while 64 are in progress, like daycare for young children and building a fence on the Egyptian border.
According to the site, 18 reforms are “stuck,” such as haredi civilian service, and 24 were not adopted, like decreasing the number of foreign workers in agriculture.
There are six recommendations “in conflict,” meaning that the government and PIW have different stances on their status.
Visitors to the website can receive updates via email whenever progress is made on a recommendation.
“This is an unprecedented step in the area of transparency and cooperation with the public,” Eitan said.
“The website allows the public to follow the government’s actions, not from big speeches and public relations, but based on facts, planning and implementation.”
According to the minister, the site will be used in the future to monitor government action following the release of reports, specifically those from the State Comptroller’s Office.
PIW representative Adam Kariv said there is a lot of “disinformation” about the Trajtenberg report, and the organization’s goal is to create the tools for critical, fact-based political discourse.
“Beyond dry statistics, the website gives in-depth information about specific areas like housing, education, market concentration and others,” Kariv explained.
“The major advantage of the site is that it shows both government updates and the stances of NGOs.”