Comptroller slams government housing policy

Yosef Shapira and Benjamin Netanyahu
Yosef Shapira and Benjamin Netanyahu

Yosef Shapira calls the government "impotent" as it failed to identify the problem, then failed to implement decisions.

The State Comptroller's report cites a chain of failures by recent governments in all matters pertaining to the residential real estate sector: failure to spot the problem, decisions taken but not implemented, lack of strategic planning, and impotence in following through on decisions that were taken and could have prevented or alleviated the crisis.

"The number of apartments built in 1999-2009 was fewer than the market required," the Comptroller wrote. "As a result, a cumulative shortage of tens of thousands of apartments was created."

Yosef Shapira cited two main reasons for the shortage: the absence of a government housing policy and failure to implement decisions, and inadequate implementation of government policy.

While the Comptroller stresses the important of devising an orderly plan for the sector and the authority and duty of the government in Israel to do so, in addition to the government's authority to delegate authority in the matter to committees or ministers, the report indicates that Israeli governments since 2005, headed by the late Ariel Sharon, Ehud Olmert, and Benjamin Netanyahu, did not fulfill the duty they were charged with. "These governments did not delegate their authority in shaping national housing policy to one of the ministers or a committee of ministers, and the authority and responsibility for determining it remained in their hands," the report states. Only in 2014 did the government, then in its last days, deal with the need to set a national housing policy, establishing a housing cabinet for the purpose headed by former Ministry of Finance Yair Lapid.

The government that did not realize the crisis

The Comptroller cited a long series of decisions taken by governments since 2005 whose implementation was delayed, or never took place at all. These included, among others, the reform in the Israel Land Authority (ILA), the decision to shorten and streamline planning procedures, a strategic plan for development of the Negev and the Galilee, setting planning targets, and so forth. The Comptroller also states that over the years, the Ministry of Housing and Construction conducted a series of studies on housing and development of outlying areas, but "The audit found that no documents were found in the Ministry of Housing and Construction indicating what the study findings were, or that their recommendations has been discussed and actions taken to implement them."

One of the prominent government decisions cited by the Comptroller in the report was the one taken by the Olmert government in August 2007 to "streamline planning and development in the ILA," the gist of which was formulating a five-year plan for zoning and developing land for residences and industry.

This decision, which was made and approved by the Israeli government, entrusted the devising of a plan to a team headed by the chairman of the National Planning and Building Commission, together with representatives from the relevant government agencies (the Ministries of Housing and Construction and Finance, the ILA, and others), who were to complete it within six months and present it to the government. According to the report, this decision was never implemented. The Comptroller's report thereby confirms a "Globes" expose on the subject from June 2014. "Although this decision was a decision in principle, which should have led to a long-range plan reflecting the national housing policy, it was not carried out," the report stated.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 25, 2015

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2015

Yosef Shapira and Benjamin Netanyahu
Yosef Shapira and Benjamin Netanyahu
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