Remarks by Consul General Rubinstein at the Center Of Excellence (COE) Leadership Conference

October 31, 2010

Your Excellency Prime Minister Fayyad; Minister of Telecommunication and Information Technology, Mashhour Abu Daqqa; Minister of Transportation, Saidi Al Krunz; Minister of Health, Fathi Abu Mughli; Minister of Prisoner Affairs, Issa Qariq’a, Governor Majed Fityani, deputy ministers, distinguished guests, thank you for inviting me to this historic event to honor the tremendous progress that your government and your specific ministries - have made in a short amount of time.

Your innovation, dedication and hard work are paying off with visible results for the efficiency of your operations, and the quality of services your citizens now receive. 

One of the things that excited me about joining you today is the fact that - at the end of the day - the issues being discussed today are ones that each of us face as government employees.  During the course of my career as an employee of the U.S. State Department, I have learned firsthand the challenges of implementing public sector reform. I commend you for taking on this vital, but at times thankless job.

From my first days in Washington with the State Department to my current position as the Consul General, I have learned that in order for reform to be sustainable it must come from within the ranks of an organization.

If reform comes from within, an organization can set its own agenda and take ownership of the process. When reform comes from outside and is directed by someone else, it can be much more difficult.

As leaders, we must provide our teams with the vision of what we want to accomplish, then nurture the changes fostered by those who we empower to carry out reform. It is a delicate balancing act. How many times do we, as leaders, say "I could have done this more easily myself." But by gently guiding, then stepping back, we are building up the next level of leaders.

Most importantly, reform must be in line with the needs of those whom an organization serves. We can all point to numerous gaps in service that both citizens and governmental officials face on a daily basis. It is critical that governmental leadership consults closely and widely - formally and unofficially - in developing and implementing reform.

Today we celebrate your commitment to improving the services your Ministries provide to the Palestinian people. The U.S. Government is proud to be a partner in this important endeavor.

I’d like to take a moment to highlight some examples of the exciting accomplishments you have achieved:

Just one year ago the Ministry of Public Works and Housing did not have functioning road repair units in Ramallah, Nablus, and Hebron; there were very limited postal services for Palestinians…in fact that Postal Agency did not even have a logo; the Higher Council of Traffic only existed on paper, and, there were no modern citizen service centers efficiently serving citizens.

Now, after one year of intense work, for which everyone is to be commended:  Roads connecting villages to cities have been repaired and are regularly maintained; more than 175 kilometers were repaired in the last year alone; the Palestine Post now provides domestic express mail, guaranteeing next day delivery and has a beautiful new logo (and I have a drawer full of new Palestinian stamps I purchased from the Post Office in Ramallah); traffic safety for commuters is now a focus with the establishment of the Higher Council of Traffic that works to increase traffic safety knowledge through outreach to save lives.

You completely renovated and refurnished 10 citizen service centers across the West Bank, which provide a number of critical services to the Palestinian public - from birth registration to drivers licenses…A perfect of example of how service delivery has the potential to affect the lives of all Palestinians.

The U.S. Government applauds your momentum and the Prime Minister’s clearly articulated plans for further achievements in good governance.  If what you accomplished in one year is any indicator of continued success - the PA is off to a tremendous start in laying the foundations of an independent, strong, democratic Palestinian state.

As I mentioned at the beginning of my remarks, the U.S. Government is proud to partner with you in your reform efforts. The United States is firmly committed to helping Palestinians build their state and its institutions. We look forward to continuing to work with you on this important endeavor.

Thank you again for inviting me to join you today. I wish you a successful conference and all the best in your continued reform efforts.