National Early Recovery and Reconstruction Plan for Gaza 2014-2017_FINAL

40The National Early Recovery and Reconstruction Plan for Gaza 2014SECTION 3: GAZA RAPID ASSESSMENT OF DAMAGES AND NEEDS3.4 Governance SectorA functional and unified public administration under the National Consensus Government is pivotal to the success of therecovery and reconstruction plan, to stabilizing Gaza, and to providing services to its citizens. Within the period of this Plan,the Government, in parallel to leading and implementing the recovery and reconstruction effort, will need to assume effectiveauthority and sole governmental responsibilities in Gaza; consolidate authority over ministries and Government agencies andreintegrate them with national institutions; harmonize and rationalize the civil service in Gaza; and gradually assume securityresponsibilities as part of a comprehensive security sector reform, starting with the assumption of policing responsibilities underthe authority of the Government to maintain civic law and order.The scale of destruction and massive displacement as a result of the Israeli assault could potentially lead to destabilized security,if immediate relief and early recovery are not provided adequately. Accordingly, the first objective in the short-term is to ensurethe operations of central and local government institutions for relief, early recovery, and reconstruction of Gaza. Achieving thiswill require a temporary solution for the personnel engaged by the previous de facto authorities post-June 2007 who have notreceived regular payments for a prolonged period of up to one year. This temporary mechanism will be limited in time andfunction in parallel to beginning the process of harmonization and rationalization of the civil service, aimed at determining theretention and retraining of existing civil servants who are not currently in active duty and the possible integration of personnelwho were recruited over the past seven years by the previous de-facto authorities, following the determination of their status.3.4.1 Operational Capacity of Central Government InstitutionsThe consolidation of the public administration under the authority of the National Consensus Government requires a carefulexamination of available modalities within the existing fiscal limitations of the budget. The civil service employees in Gazahave not been able to assume their responsibilities yet and return to their work. In addition, those employed by the previousde facto authorities after June 2007 have not received regular payments for months, and their status remains undefined. Theseinclude some 10,000 personnel in the education and health sectors, who perform vital social services for the population. Thisis in addition to several thousand civil police officers and members of the security apparatus. This situation is not tenable andthreatens the operational capacity of central government institutions to implement early recovery and reconstruction programs.The consolidation of the public administration and service provision will further be complicated by the immediate impact of theassault, which resulted in the destruction of public buildings, along with government equipment and vehicles.3.4.2 Operational Capacity of Local Government InstitutionsMunicipalities are direct providers of essential daily services to their citizens and as such play a key role in recovery andreconstruction efforts.Municipalities to a large degree depend on revenues for services and municipal fees and taxes. In impoverished Gaza, however,citizens are not able to pay these service fees and taxes. As a result, municipal personnel have not received regular paymentsfor months, and currently only core personnel is reporting to work. While conditions vary slightly between municipalities, theoperational capacity of municipalities has been compromised during the most critical period. Especially in the current recoveryand reconstruction phase, it is vital that municipalities work at their maximum capacity.Municipalities have also suffered direct losses. Municipal facilities and equipment have been destroyed and damaged throughoutGaza, though Rafah, Beit Lahia, and Gaza City incurred most of the damages. These damages further undermine the operationalcapacity of the affected municipalities.