Leadership and Municipal Management
“Bethlehem is a small city of Palestine on the West Bank, not far away from Jordan. 40.000 people live in Bethlehem and it had one of the biggest Palestinian Christian communities in the Middle East. The political situation causes lots of trouble and many of the citizens cannot even cross the borders of Bethlehem. I have been working as an auditor for the local municipality since 2004 because I wanted to do something good for local people like my father did. Monitoring and evaluation of the taxes, tender offers, fixed assets are my main responsibilities. All of these involve aspects of leadership and management.”

Experiences in The Netherlands
“During the training course “Leadership and Municipal Management” I had a chance to improve my knowledge on this topic and gained experience from my Dutch colleagues.”

“The course was very well organised and full of information and practice. Field visits to the municipalities added a lot to my views and knowledge. A subtopic, leadership through financial management, was a new field of study for me. Moreover, I took part in a Civil Servants Day in Eindhoven together with other 500 young Dutch attendants. During my internship in Huizen, I gained valuable experience in the field of city marketing and financial management. I was impressed how the municipality of Huizen used the latest technology to approach its citizens.”

Back Home Action Plan
“The city of Bethlehem faces lots of challenges, nevertheless I want to improve several matters at the municipality, such as strategic planning, time management and better communication with the stakeholders. I am convinced that after the changes, local people would benefit enormously from the new and efficient services.”

Musa Ahmed Subeh