State Comptroller Matanyahu Engelman visited today (Wednesday) the Upper Galilee and Hermon foothills regional councils, accompanied by local council heads, Benny Ben-Movchar and Asaf Belyevan.
During the visit in Manara, Engelman was shown houses that were damaged during the war in the community but have not yet been rehabilitated, and he expressed surprise at the delay in completing the rehabilitation.
"It cannot be that the rehabilitation of homes in Kibbutz Manara will take years. This is an area that requires immediate and effective treatment," Engelman said, noting that existing resources should be fully utilized to expedite the rehabilitation. "The importance is in quick rehabilitation that will help return residents to their homes and through maximizing resources. This is a fundamental demand, not just a request for urgency."
In recent weeks, the State Comptroller's Office published a report on the compensation fund, highlighting the need to learn lessons from past rehabilitation efforts, especially regarding the efficient pooling of resources. The report described the need for improvement in the work of the Northern Development Administration, which aims to improve the rehabilitation and development conditions in the region.
The ongoing review focuses on the management and structure of the Northern Development Administration’s work, and examines the implications of these processes for formulating and completing the multi-year development plan for the north. One of the main issues in the review is the delay in formulating the multi-year plan and the negative impact this has on the implementation of rehabilitation programs.
Engelman also pointed out that the rehabilitation of the north also involves the challenges of returning evacuees to their homes. He emphasized the need to identify all the necessary processes to facilitate the swift and smooth return of residents, while ensuring it aligns with the decision-making process for the expected plan.