The State Comptroller Published a Report Regarding Government Handling and Supervision of the Dead Sea Franchise - Environmental and Land Use Issues

State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman, " The Dead Sea natural resources belong to the public and therefore the many serious audit findings cited in the report should concern every citizen of Israel.
The findings are due to lapses in Government oversight, incompetence, lack of concern for public resources and inept governance over decades covering a large expanse of land on which is located one of Israel's most important natural resources. As a result of the mismanagement, infrastructure, mines, and evaporation ponds were developed and mounds of industrial waste, that can potentially harm the environment accumulated, without proper government regulation and oversight. In addition, relevant levies and fees for these infrastructure projects were not paid to the government.

The Finance Ministry, is the lead regulator in establishing the future Dead Sea franchise after the current franchise expires in 2030.  State Comptroller Englman stated that the Finance Ministry in cooperation with Ministry of Environmental Affairs must examine the appropriate changes necessary to address the audit findings. They should consider the need to establish a coordinating body that will facilitate managing and overseeing the new franchise.
The government agencies mentioned in the report must act decisively to correct the deficiencies that were exposed. The responsible ministers and their chief operating officers must be actively involved in rectifying the audit findings and implementing the audit recommendations. Based on the audit report the following government agencies - Finance Ministry, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy and the Israel Lands Authority must conduct a thorough examination of their operations vis a vis the major industrial concerns and verify that there is no regulatory failure in implementing the agencies' authority as was found in this report on the Dead Sea.
Given the importance of Dead Sea Works Corporation and that of the future holder of the Dead Sea franchise, that necessitates expansive use of natural resources and ensuing environmental damage; addressing the deficiencies enumerated in the report is paramount. It is possible to consider expanding state audit to include the future franchise holder and all activities connected with exploiting Dead Sea resources and their impact on the surrounding area. Looking forward, these audit findings are now  worthy of study and drawing conclusions from, as the government is actively planning the new franchise requirements after the current franchise expires in 2030.