Site tracks Trajtenberg's successes, failures
07/12/2012 03:31
Government services minister works with NGO to track progress on committee’s 138 recommendations for social change.
Michael Eitan pointing to a settlement map. Photo: 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.”