PMO's expenses: Thousands of shekels for dietitian, wine
Almost two years late, PMO releases its expenses for 2016 and early 2017; Freedom of Information Movement requests documents that were witheld due to 'security concerns.'
The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) released its expenses reports for 2016 and the first half of 2017 late last week, which includes tens of thousands of shekels paid to the dietitian guru Heli Maman, NIS 100,000 for religious theater and NIS 250,000 to commemorate slain minister Rehavam Ze'evi.
The expenses included in the report are of both the PMO and the bodies it funds and oversees, such as the Government Press Office (GPO) and the National Cyber Bureau.
The expense report lists only the basic details pertaining to the office's suppliers without expounding on them; it is therefore difficult to ascertain to what extent the expenses are justified.
The report reveals that the PMO's preferred butcher is Rafael Tzivka from Mahane Yehuda Market and the preferred wine supplier is Psagot Winery—at a cost of NIS 8,000.
The Freedom Of Information Unit of the Justice Ministry decreed two years ago that government offices release their expenses every quarter. While other government agencies duly followed the regulation, the PMO has failed to comply with the regulation for the last two years and only now is releasing the accumulated reports.
However, the reports do not include the expenses of the Prime Minister's official residence in Jerusalem nor his personal residence in Caesarea, aside from electricity, water and municipal taxes.
The Movement for Freedom of Information requested that those reports be released but was rebuffed by the PMO claiming that it necessitated too much time and that the names of suppliers cannot be released for security reasons.
After the release of the expenses report, Executive Director Nirit Blayer said it was "better late than never. The PMO has been working to close the gap with other government agencies, being the last to release the 2016 and 2017 reports. However, the reports are all missing details, and we are fighting this in court. Nevertheless, we are glad the PMO has (released its reports), and we hope that they continue to release reports, and on time."
The Tenders Committee of the Prime Minister's Office confirmed that Netanyahu's speechwriter, Hagai Harif, will receive NIS 163,000 for speeches written from now until the end of 2018.
Harif has been writing speeches for Netanyahu since January, 2014. The report stated that Harif is familiar with the speech style that Netanyahu is seeking.
Harif will receive NIS 150,000 for 2018 and an additional NIS 13,000 for the remainder of 2017 due to the departure of the director of the Hebrew Correspondence Division, Gilad Katz, who has been appointed as Israel's consul in Texas.
