Jordan Times
Thursday, April 28, 2005

Gov't urges halt to random appointments

AMMAN (JT) — The government on Wednesday set out to tackle the bloated bureaucracy urging a halt to random appointments and forming a panel to draw up a reform plan for the Civil Service Bureau (CSB).

Prime Minister Adnan Badran on Wednesday said people should change the way they think about public jobs, which cannot absorb the increasing number of graduates, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. Visiting the CSB yesterday, Badran added that the government can create 6,000-7,000 jobs annually, but employment applications received by the bureau are more than 139,000.

The premier said the ministerial committee has four weeks to submit its recommendations to the Cabinet.

Badran noted that the CSB should help develop and rehabilitate public employees to create more efficient government bodies. He said the private sector can help alleviate unemployment and poverty by setting up projects around the Kingdom.

For his part, CSB President Mazen Saket reviewed challenges facing the bureau. Minister of Social Development Abdullah Oweidat, Minister of Government Performance Salah Bashir, Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Khalid Touqan, Minister of Health Saeed Darwazeh, Minister of State for Public Sector Reform Tayseer Smadi, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Suhair Al-Ali, and Minister of Labour Bassem Salem attended the meeting.

Meanwhile, Minister of Municipal Affairs Tawfiq Kreishan yesterday urged the Kingdom's 99 municipalities to halt random appointments and reduce their expenditures.

Kreishan told The Jordan Times that the municipalities owe the Cities and Villages Development Bank around JD55 million.


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