Watchdog shields Zelekha against dismissal, for now - Haaretz

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Last update - 11:56 19/09/2007

Watchdog shields Zelekha against dismissal, for now

By Tal Levy and Moti Bassok, Haaretz Correspondents

Shouky Oren, general manager of Bank Leumi Switzerland, has been tapped to replace Yaron Zelekha as the Finance Ministry's accountant general if Zelekha is indeed forced out. (For more, click here to watch Haaretz.com TV)

But State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss decided to intervene Tuesday, ordering Finance Minister Roni Bar-On not to dismiss Zelekha until Lindenstrauss has a chance to study Zelekha's demand for protection against dismissal.

Three weeks ago, parliamentarians Shelly Yachimovich and Aryeh Eldad argued to Bar-On that Zelekha - who exposed the alleged wrongdoing in the state's sale of Bank Leumi for which Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is now under criminal investigation - deserved the protection usually afforded to whistle-blowers, and should therefore be retained. On Tuesday, Bar-On replied that he wasn't "firing" Zelekha; he was simply not extending his contract.

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But Lindenstrauss wrote Bar-On Tuesday that since civil service ombudsman Hillel Shamgar has not yet had a chance to study the minister's answer and its appendixes, no change should be made in Zelekha's status until Shamgar's decision is handed down.

Oren's appointment was formally announced Tuesday afternoon, prompting Zelekha, who has made a name for himself as a warrior against corruption, to petition the High Court of Justice. The appointment must still be approved by both Civil Service Commissioner Shmuel Hollander and the cabinet, but is expected to pass easily. However, the comptroller's position means that Bar-On should wait until the ombudsman's decision is handed down before presenting Oren's candidacy for approval.

Zelekha's four-year contract runs out on October 19, 2007. However, it remains unclear when Oren might actually begin the job, because Zelekha means to fight his ouster. "We'll meet at the High Court," Zelekha said in response to Oren's appointment.

The court has previously ruled that the tenure of certain senior civil servants cannot be terminated without good reason. Though Zelekha has famously rocky relations both with many treasury officials, including some of his superiors, and with Olmert, he is considered a consummate professional and has won many awards for excellence on the job.

"On October 19 I shall continue to work as accountant general," Zelekha told TheMarker on Tuesday. "I shall continue on the job for a certain period of time, as long as I have the strength to protect the public interest and until the reforms that I instituted in the civil service, including with regard to its financial management, reach the point of no return. We are not far from that point." He has previously stated that Bar-On does not have the authority to terminate him.

Oren, 48, has managed Bank Leumi Switzerland for the past past five and a half years. He also has experience in the government sector, having served as the treasury's deputy accountant general under Eli Yones from 1989-93. Oren is considered to have close ties with Yones, and when Yones later served as CEO of Investec Israel, Oren joined that company. He held various posts at Investec from 1994-2002, including deputy CEO, chief financial officer, vice president of the business division and managing director of investments, underwriting and issues.

Bar-On announced in late August that Zelekha's tenure would end, as specified in his employment agreement, at the end of October 2007. Bar-On explained that he "places great importance of the principles of terms limits and rotation" and believes that a four-year term is reasonable and appropriate, and should be concluded on schedule.

This announcement was just about the first thing Bar-On did when he replaced Abraham Hirchson as finance minister. Zelekha had been appointed by Benjamin Netanyahu, and had told Haaretz in an interview that while Netanyahu had served as finance minister, he had felt that he had backing. The trouble began after Netanyahu left the Finance Ministry, when Zelekha fell foul of his colleagues in his drives to institute new norms in civil service financial practices, among other things. His detractors often accuse him of being arrogant.

Zelekha, a zealous anti-corruption campaigner, once spoke of "putting terror into the hearts of the prehistoric dinosaurs that bled the state for years," by which he was referring to the overly cozy relationships between certain officials and certain businessmen. He has since claimed to have been threatened because of his exposes.

The new accountant general will be arriving at the treasury at a difficult time, with a new minister, a Tax Authority that still lacks a chairman, and the expected resignation of Budgets Director Kobi Haber.

Moreover, several treasury officials claim that the treasury has been paralyzed for months because of various struggles between Zelekha and his colleagues. Thus the new accountant general will also have to reestablish cooperation with the rest of his department and get his office's activities back in gear.

Eldad Fresher, who currently manages Bank Mizrahi-Tefahot's financial division, had been offered the job, but turned it down, TheMarker has learned.

Avi Bar-Eli, Zvi Zrahiya and Ram Dagan contributed to this report.

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11:56 Watchdog shields Zelekha against dismissal, for now