Jordan Times
Friday, March 4, 2005
Premier commends performance
of judiciary
AMMAN (Petra) — Prime Minister Faisal Fayez on Thursday urged judicial officials
to address the delay in serving notices to people involved in lawsuits and to
“hold accountable those responsible.”
During a meeting with senior officials at the Justice Ministry yesterday, Fayez
said that despite such shortcomings in the performance of the judiciary, the
Kingdom's judicial situation was satisfactory. He noted that the Global
Competitiveness Report ranked Jordan 23rd among 102 countries in terms of
independence of the judiciary.
“This is a good rank, but we seek to improve it,” he said.
The premier stressed that “our judiciary is fair as everyone acknowledges and
unsubstantiated accusations should not be directed at the system.”
Fayez's visit to the Justice Ministry came as part of a tour of ministries
seeking to check on the progress made in their respective strategies and plans,
especially those concerned with restructuring.
On Thursday, he also held a meeting with Culture Minister Asma Khader and senior
officials at the ministry. Fayez said the reinstatement of the previously
abolished Culture Ministry was in response to a call by intellectuals with whom
he met last year to discuss the issue. However, this does not mean that there is
no need for the Higher Cultural Council, he added.
During a visit to the Ministry of Health, Fayez urged officials to coordinate
family planning awareness efforts with the Higher Population Council,
emphasising that the success of such programmes would reflect positively on the
economy.
He also called for an improvement in healthcare services and instructed health
officials to open channels for citizens to file complaints regarding any failure
in the provision of services.
Fayez also brought up the issue of hazardous medical waste, which, he stressed,
should be disposed of safely.
At the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, the premier said the process of municipal
development would be linked to the new division of the Kingdom's regions, in
accordance with His Majesty King Abdullah's vision.
In a televised speech late January, King Abdullah said the Kingdom would be
divided into regions in a way that would ensure increased involvement of
citizens in policy making related to their areas.