Jordan Times
Monday, October 8, 2001
Opinion
Privatisation gains popular support
Fahed Fanek
PRIVATISATION MEANS the transfer of ownership and, consequently, management of public sector enterprises from the government to the private sector. The government is, thereafter, to devote time and efforts to its basic role, of maintaining internal security of the citizens and the security of the country, to protect the environment, to formulate public policies, to enact laws and regulations, and to supervise all activities to guarantee justice and safety.
A specialised group, commissioned by the Privatisation Unit at the Prime Ministry, recently conducted a public opinion survey which covered a random sample of 1,000 citizens of both genders. One questions was: To what extent do you approve or disapprove of the following statements about privatisation: 1) it creates new job opportunities; 2) it improves the quality of the commodity or service; 3) it reduces prices; 4) it raises productivity.
The results indicated that the Jordanian public opinion, which was at one time against the concept, started to appreciate the advantages of privatisation, especially after the great success of the early experiments in the fields of communications, hotels, cement production and public transportation. A convincing majority voted positively, surprising analysts.
Concerning the creation of new job opportunities, 52.1 per cent approved, 20.5 per cent disapproved and 27.4 per cent said they were not sure.
In the field of improving the quality of goods and services, 62.9 per cent agreed, 13 per cent disagreed and 24.1 per cent did not respond.
As far as reducing prices after privatisation, only 21.6 per cent agreed, 39.2 per cent disagreed and 39.2 per cent were not able to make up their minds.
When it came to enhancing productivity, 42.4 per cent were in favour, 24.5 per cent against, and 33.1 per cent could not give a definite answer.
It is evident, based on the above survey, that a comfortable majority of the Jordanian public has a positive idea of privatisation, except where prices are concerned, even though the experience of Jordan Telecommunication Corporation (Telecom) should have raised the percentage of those who agree, because privatisation brings competition which leads to lower prices and tempting offers.
I am of the opinion that the battle over privatisation in Jordan has, for all practical purposes, been resolved in favour of the new trend. However, the publicity and information campaigns did not come to a close. A high percentage of the people are still in-between, they did not decide one way or another. They are about ready to take sides in one direction or another. Campaigns should be directed at this undetermined group of citizens, to gain their hearts and minds regarding privatisation.
It is worth mentioning that the positive convictions regarding privatisation did not come about as a result of concentrated publicity campaigns in favour of privatisation; they came as a result of seeing, first hand, the practical experiments already implemented, where claimed advantages materialised and all fears turned out to be groundless. As a matter of fact, the majority of the material published by the press comes from those who oppose privatisation and warn against its alleged dangers to employees and consumers. Most of what was published came from ideologists representing economic fundamentalism which the advanced world left behind.
The drive for privatisation will continue with the blessing of the public opinion.