Last update - 00:00 15/07/2007
Newly appointed Interior Min. Sheetrit sets out to push reforms
By Avi Bar-Eli, TheMarker
Meir Sheetrit, who was appointed interior minister last week in Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's cabinet reshuffle, has listed a series of reforms he plans to push through. "I pray I will stay long enough in office to implement them," Sheetrit said in an interview with TheMarker.
The incoming minister's plans range from downsizing local municipalities to improving identity cards and entrusting architects to grant building permits. "I hope I will have a few years in office to implement my plans, but I have no control over the issue. I pray for at least one year in office, or that I'll stay at least until November 2008."
Before his nomination, Sheetrit presided over the Housing Ministry. He had hoped to be named finance minister since the government was formed. "What can I say. It's the prime minister's prerogative," Sheetrit said on Olmert's decision to appoint Roni Bar-On to the position.
Concerning his current post, Sheetrit regards himself as the best-suited man to deal with the municipalities, which are under the jurisdiction of the Interior Ministry. "I am the first interior minister who had been elected in the past to head a local council," said Sheetrit, who entered national politics after he was elected mayor of the central town of Yavne in 1974. "No one can tell me fairy tales, and I won't accept delays."
Sheetrit's list of objectives for the municipalities includes amendments to building laws, changes to the structure of local councils and a reform program for the Population Administration.
Less council members
"One of the first moves which I intend to implement is to reshape the way local councils are being run. A mayor cannot operate with 10 to 15 individual parties. This distribution creates diminished performance. This produces an unstable city council, and it ultimately leads to a waste of taxpayer's money. I intend to bring about a reduction in the number of city council members, which will place a higher votes threshold for local elections. I hope to put this mechanism in place before the municipal elections scheduled for November 2008."
Sheetrit added that he intends to continue his predecessor's policy of strict supervision over local councils. "I expect all of the local councils to move toward streamlining." The incoming interior minister, who entered office last Sunday, indicated that he planned to achieve this by getting local council to delegate authority to their lower-ranking officials.
In addition, Sheetrit has big plans for the Population Administration services, which pertain to issuing passports and identity cards in Interior Ministry branches across Israel. "There is no reason for people to stand hours in line. We will locate the reasons for such delays and we will address them. As Transportation Minister, for example, I doubled the validity time of driver's licenses, which reduced the number of people who required this service."
Identification papers represent another challenge. "Israeli Identity cards are scandalously easy to forge. There are currently 350,000 people walking around with fake IDs. I will act to change the format of IDs and passports."
Foreign immigrants are another issue on Sheetrit's to-do list. "The Population Administration should be responsible for dictating the Immigration Police's objectives. We mustn't deal exclusively with foreign workers when Israel has tens of thousands of tourists with expired visas." Sheetrit nonetheless believes in strict quotas for foreign workers. "Foreign workers damage the market, and especially the poorer social strata."
Sheetrit, however, is cautious about guaranteeing that all his plans will be executed. "I just stepped into office, and I don't want to be presumptuous. The situation must change and the ministry has the means to put such a change in place."