Yesh Atid chairman MK Yair Lapid promised to slash the size of the new government on the grounds that the large number of ministries was a waste of public money, but while the number of ministers has been reduced by eight, spending by ministries has barely been touched. The expected savings will amount to just NIS 40-100 million.
The small savings is because of the appointment of six deputy ministers, which cost almost as much as a full ministerial portfolio. The cost of a cabinet minister is NIS 2.8 million year, and the cost of a deputy minister is NIS 2.2 million. The figures include salaries - a minister earns NIS 42,000 a month and a deputy minister earns NIS 39,000 - car, office, chauffeurs, aides, and advisers. Ministers' security details add NIS 2 million a year to this figure.
The outgoing government was the largest in Israeli history, reaching 40 ministers and deputy ministers at its peak. But although the number of ministers has been reduced, the number of ministries has not, and some ministers will hold several portfolios. For example, Gilad Erdan will hold both the communications and home front defense portfolios. He will consolidate all the ministerial authority, but at two ministries, each with a director general, full staff, offices, and budgets.
Silvan Shalom will hold three portfolios: Negev and Galilee Development; Regional Cooperation; and Energy and Water Resources. During his previous term, Shalom saved the cost of one ministry director general (for both the ministries of Negev and Galilee Development; Regional Cooperation). However, in this term, he will probably have to appoint another director general for the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources.
It is not yet clear whether the two ministries allotted to Yuval Steinitz - the Ministry Strategic Affairs and the Ministry of Intelligence Affairs - will be consolidated, and it is not clear whether one director general will head them both.
Habayit Hayehudi chairman MK Naftali Bennett will also hold several portfolios: the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor; the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs; and the Ministry of Religious Affairs. He will oversee three director generals, one for each ministry.
The only ministry which has been dismantled is the Ministry of Public Relations, whose responsibilities will be divided between the Prime Minister's Office and Bennett's Ministry of Diaspora Affairs.
The salary of a ministry director general is almost NIS 33,000 a month, in addition to a car and chauffeur. A director general has the right to hire two advisers, an office manager, and three secretaries; the monthly salary of one adviser is NIS 19,000 and that of the second adviser is over NIS 10,000.
Nonetheless, the new government will be smaller than its predecessor and the reduction in the number of ministers will save NIS 40-100 million a year, from the salaries not paid to now non-existent ministers, director generals, security and office staff, and advisers.
The new government will be sworn in tonight, after the Prime Minister's Office settled the dispute between Shalom and Steinitz over the distribution of portfolios at 2 am today. Steinitz gave up the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources in favor of the international relations, strategy, and intelligence portfolios. He will handle strategic dialogue with the US and will be a member of the peace talks negotiating team. He will also chair the Committee on Atomic Energy. In addition to the energy and development portfolios, Shalom will be a member of the kitchen cabinet and of the negotiating team with the Palestinians.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 18, 2013
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