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del.icio.us Digg It!  new Last update - 21:00 19/11/2007 State Comptroller slams illegal dumpsites, faulty tax collection By Or Kashti, Zafrir Rinat, Yigal Hai, Haaretz Correspondents Tags: State Comptroller  The annual report, compiled by State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss and released Monday, found that not only are government ministries failing to prevent the use of illegal waste dumpsites, in some cases, they are not aware of their existence. The state comptroller examined seven local councils, mainly in central Israel, and found 54 dumpsites that were situated illegally on agricultural land. These waste sites endanger the purity of the ground water, and are a source of pollution and odor. The councils charged with overseeing the use of these lands, the comptroller found, were not aware of ten such dumpsites. Out of the 54 sites, 42 were discovered long after they began being operational, and even then, were not dismantled. The councils also failed to criminally charge the known dumpsite operators, and allowed the continued illegal disposal of waste. Also in the report, the comptroller exposed the planning and building failures regarding an airport compound, which comprises some 750 dunams next to Ben Gurion International Airport. The compound was meant to serve as backup for activity overflowing from the airport itself, but according to the report, there are major gaps between the planned structures and those actually constructed by May 2006. Advertisement Another issue tackled by Lindenstrauss was the collection of municipal property tax from government offices and state-owned companies in nine local councils across the country. The comptroller found that the databases used by these councils to charge municipal property tax were in disorder. Failures in the tax collection notices as well as the actual collection process were also found. The comptroller's report also criticized the involvement of non-profit organizations and other private groups in the public education system, in many cases supplanting government offices in areas that should be handled by the education ministry. One of the major non-profit organizations mentioned in the report is the Rashi Foundation, which operates the Enriched School Day program. The report maintains that "some of the responsibilities transferred from the education ministry to the foundation are clearly the responsibility of the government, which must not be placed in the hands of private organizations." The report also maintains that the ministry transferred NIS 431 million to the foundation, but did not "make sure before making the payment that these sums were to be used to fund the [Enriched School Day] program and none of the foundation's other activities." In addition, the report continued, the ministry did not define the goals of the day program's educational curriculum, nor did it oversee the content of its educational material. The ministry was also not involved in the decision over which towns would be eligible for this program. The ministry also did not determine the amount of money to be allocated by municipalities for the program, nor did it determine the amount of tuition charged from parents, even though the program was operational only in towns where both the local municipality and the parents contributed to its budget. Bookmark to del.icio.us MTV generation MTV launches new channel in effort to draw Arab viewers. Not settling for less PA to U.S.: We demand a complete settlement freeze.

Today Online Gazan dies of cancer after refused entry into Israel Responses: 280 Poll: Most Americans still strong supporters of Israel Responses: 175 Shmuel Rosner: Anti-Israel attitudes on U.S. campuses Responses: 95 Yossi Beilin: Better to skip Annapolis meet than go there like this Responses: 78 Israel okays release of 441 Palestinians before summit Responses: 59 Rosner's Domain The case against war with Iran (WTR) New Guest: On anti-Israel attitudes on contemporary campuses Poll: Should Israel "get used" to the Iranian bomb? The Annapolis dictionary: P is for photo-op More Headlines 21:04 Comptroller: PM helped Likud activist get millions in gov't aid 19:11 Comptroller: IDF reservists didn't train properly for 5 years 20:43 Government cites 'progress' as Olmert and Abbas meeting ends 19:27 IDF chief opposes inclusion of Gazans in prisoner release 19:14 Chestnut from Anne Frank tree goes on sale on eBay 20:02 Basher Assad meets Syrian politicians to discuss regional developments 21:00 Balad to hold vote on whether to accept Israel as a Jewish state 19:35 UNRWA: New Israeli restrictions curtailing aid to Palestinians 13:45 PM, Mubarak to meet in Sharm al-Sheikh Tuesday for surprise talks 14:13 In planned Gaza fun park - no kissing allowed Previous Editions Select Day 18 nov 16 nov 15 nov 14 nov 13 nov 12 nov 11 nov 09 nov 08 nov 07 nov 06 nov 05 nov

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