Imagine standing in an antiquated street under an oppressive July sun, a hairdryer breeze parting the road’s sea of dust, unleashing a white, dry tidal wave upon parked cars, variety stores, children playing football, laundry hanging from windows, and anything else that dares to exist beyond the protection of a wall. A low rumbling like a swarm of locusts arises from around the corner. As military vehicles turn onto the street, people suddenly stop their activities, disappearing into thin air as they escape to shelter, for they know what is coming next. The sound of gunfire in the distance draws closer, followed by explosions and the jarring crash of crumbling concrete. Tanks pour through the streets like floodwaters, sirens mourn the loss of placidity, and businesses shut down, another crippling setback for an economy already characterized by chaos.
Reform is a tough endeavor to undertake in relatively stable conditions, but when you are faced with a violent conflict, when bombs and gunfire prevent trade and commerce, when curfews and roadblocks stand as obstacles to daily tasks, let alone policymaking, it is understandable that many people are afraid to continue reform efforts. Perhaps some become disillusioned or apathetic. There are some dedicated souls, however, who continue through it all, who push for change while conflict swirls around them.
Dr. Hisham Awartani, Executive Director of the Center for Private Sector for Development (CPSD), is one of these champions of reform. CPSD has been holding a series of training seminars for senior staff in public and private sector institutions throughout 2006, even as conflict heated up in the Palestinian Territories. Last week, two of these workshops were held in Gaza for senior staff in firms, officials from public sector institutions, lawyers, auditors, accountants, bankers, and faculty and students from Al-Azhar University and the Islamic University. Sixty-three participants learned about corporate governance and its importance to the overall economic climate of Palestine.
The workshops are part of a larger corporate governance awareness raising project conducted by CPSD this year that also includes awareness workshops for businesspeople, corporate governance for univerisities, and issuing a second edition of the CPSD Corporate Governance Handbook. An interview with Dr. Awartani about the state of corporate governance in Palestine can be found in the Summer 2005 issue of Corporate Governance Trends Newsletter.
Published Date: August 15, 2006