The government decided today to approve the Israel Broadcasting Authority\'s proposed 720-million shekel budget - almost five months late. The decision must still be approved by a Knesset committee this coming Monday. The Knesset Finance Committee did not agree to approve the budget earlier this month, after it was discovered that the IBA had wasted hundreds of millions of shekels over the past years. Arutz-7\'s Effie Meir cites two examples:
\"About a decade ago, a large building in Be\'er Sheva was rented, renovated, and equipped with state-of-the-art equipment for the purpose of building a southern-area studio. However, because of internal squabbling, not even one broadcast has been held there - yet it still costs the IBA over 100,000 shekels every single month in rent and property taxes. In addition, the IBA employs 3,000 workers, including 2,000 permanent employees. For the sake of comparison, the three companies that jointly comprise Channel Two employ altogether 240 permanent workers.\" The government decision today stipulated that the IBA must present a recovery program - something that it has been asked to do in the past as well.