Jordan Times
Sunday, April 9, 2006
Gov't promoting women's role as key players in development process — PM
AMMAN (Petra) — Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit on
Saturday said the government, upon directives from His Majesty King Abdullah,
gives special attention to enhance the situation of women and promote their role
as key players in the development process.
The premier said the government was also keen to remove obstacles preventing
women from playing a larger role in the community in line with the Constitution,
which stipulates that all Jordanians are equal before the law.
Bakhit made the remarks during a meeting with representatives of women's
organisations.
The premier said women, who constitute half the population, play an important
role in changing the typical ways of thinking in the community with regard to
vocational training and the culture of shame.
Bakhit said no less than 20 per cent of the seats in municipal councils were
allocated for women in the draft municipalities law, which the government
forwarded to Parliament.
He said in addition to this quota, women could still compete for more municipal
council seats.
The premier said the government has a clear vision and timeframe for development
in the economic, social and political sectors, and relies on women's
contribution to achieve progress in the country.
Referring to political development, Bakhit said programmes are created by civil
society institutions, not by governments, because they are capable of doing so;
the role of the government in this regard is restricted to supervising and
creating a suitable atmosphere.
Meanwhile, the prime minister said the government intensified its efforts last
month to study and revise the feasibility of poverty and unemployment
alleviation programmes.
In this regard, he stressed that programmes creating income-generating projects
and fostering job opportunities would remain, but those with unsatisfactory
results will be restructured.
Bakhit said the government will soon issue a document on poverty focused on
providing housing for the poor, distributing land plots and expanding health
insurance coverage — which currently covers a third of the society — to provide
for citizens over the age of 65.
The government is also studying a plan to provide citizens over 60 years of age
— totalling 337,000 — with health insurance coverage in return for an affordable
fee, he added.
On the government's decision to lift subsidies on fuel derivatives, Bakhit said
the oil bill reached JD1.6 billion due to the rise in oil prices on the
international market, which constituted a heavy burden on the budget. He also
referred to reduced foreign aid, which made taking this decision necessary.
Responding to the women's remarks on corruption, Bakhit said the government
would combat the problem and not hesitate to disclose any corruption case and
follow up on it.
He said most of the corruption cases were administrative as opposed to
financial.
In this regard, Bakhit said the government worked on institutionalising the
mechanisms of public sector appointments, especially in senior posts, to
guarantee impartiality and competence.
The premier said the committee entrusted with this task, headed by the minister
of justice, would soon announce the results of tests it conducts for job
applicants.
The representatives of women's organisations attending the meeting, who
commended the government's decision to allocate 20 per cent of municipal council
seats for women, called for activating the role of women in the amended
Political Parties Law. They also called for enhancing the role of women in the
various economic, social and political aspects of life.
The ministers of finance, municipal affairs, foreign affairs, interior and
public sector reform attended the meeting.