Ministry of Social Development and MIFTAH sign Memo of Understanding to enhance strategic partnership within the 'Finance for Development' Project
By MIFTAH
June 19, 2019

Ramallah – The Ministry of Social Development, represented by Deputy Minister Daoud Al Deek, and MIFTAH’s Board of Directors representative Yousef Dajani, signed a Memo of Understanding [MoU] at the ministry’s headquarters on June 13 in order to promote cooperation as part of interventions within the Oxfam-funded “Finance for Development” project, carried out by MIFTAH.

Both parties stressed on the importance of continued institutionalization of their partnership and cooperation. This, they said was in order to promote a participatory approach in formulating fiscal policies and guaranteeing active and broad-scale community participation in preparing the the ministry’s budget in line with the principles of international budgeting transparency measures to promoting the values of integrity and transparency in fiscal planning processes and decisions that respond to citizens’ needs.

Mr. Dajani pointed out the importance of joint cooperation with the Ministry of Social Development, expressing appreciation for the ministry’s openness to civil society institutions, reflected in building a true partnership based on placing citizens and their needs at the center of attention of both parties through promoting partnership between the public and private sectors and citizens. The aim of this, he said, was to arrive at a true partnership and community engagement that reflect citizen participation and monitoring over public - including fiscal -affairs in order to promote the principles of good governance represented by integrity, transparency and social accountability.

On this part, Mr. Al Deek said his ministry believed in the importance of the role of partner institutions in advancing the quality of citizen services in addition to the auxiliary role played by institutions in supporting the ministry’s efforts to combat multidimensional poverty, exclusion and marginalization, particularly of the most vulnerable sectors. He said the ministry was more open to providing fiscal information to the public, also commending MIFTAH’s role in supporting these approaches.

Meanwhile, director of MIFTAH’s policy dialogue and good governance program Lamis Hantouli, stressed that the model of cooperation between the Ministry of Social Development and MIFTAH constituted an incentive for other ministries to take on the same experience. She commended the openness of the ministry’s political will and it’s progressive thinking in regards to the principles of good governance, which has contributed to the building of strategic partnership capable of addressing the challenges that face the two sides and help in promoting dialogue between the ministry and civil society.

This MoU is in line with the strategic approaches and concerted efforts between MIFTAH and the Ministry of Social Development, aimed at moving forward in lobbying and advocacy on public policies that guarantee justice and equality within the framework of promoting good governance and state institution-building in Palestine.

Cooperation between the ministry and MIFTAH has resulted in a number of achievements, including: the preparation and publication of the 2016, 2017 and 2018 Citizens’ Budget and a continuation of this and next years’ budgets. Furthermore, a guidebook for the preparation of the Citizens’ Budget was published, with the objective of institutionalizing it as a first step in the transition towards a participatory budget and planning and contribution to promoting the criteria of participation and social accountability.

http://www.miftah.org