Jordan Times
Monday, December 19, 2005
Maan NGOs trained
on advocacy skills
By Victoria Macchi
MAAN — A nascent grassroots meets government
project is preparing NGO representatives in Maan to advocate for citizens'
welfare.
Last week, 23 participants graduated from a capacity-building course, organised
under the EU Poverty Alleviation Programme.
The group, representing 14 local NGOs concerned with health, agriculture,
women's issues and cooperatives, spent a week learning advocacy, negotiation and
governance skills. The objective was to teach the participants how to channel
the local community's needs to the local and national government.
Also during the weeklong workshop, the participants brainstormed potential
projects to increase Maan Municipality's revenues, while providing a public
service that is environmentally and socially sensitive.
At the forefront is a project to build housing for 1,000 Al Hussein Ben Talal
University students. Those in favour of the housing plan say it will require
road expansions, which will also benefit the community. It will also create
construction jobs, and eventually the revenues of the housing will be funneled
into the community through NGOs. The University of Jordan is conducting a
feasibility study for the estimated 1.5 million euro project.
The group will present its finalised plan to the Ministry of Planning and the
European Commission Delegation in Amman by the end of the month to qualify for
part of a 30 million euro grant from the EU for poverty alleviation.
According to Maan Mayor Khalid Maani, the municipality's unemployment rate of
31.2 per cent (more than double the national average) is due to its distance
from the capital.
Parliamentary representatives from the area, he told The Jordan Times, “become
citizens of Amman when they go to work for the government” and neglect lobbying
for their district.
An industrial zone in Maan equipped to house 40 companies sits empty due to a
lack of marketing. Maani hopes that the Chamber of Industry will motivate firms
to move operations to Maan.
Another reason for the stagnant industrial sector is the perceived risk of the
private sector, according to the mayor. While 49 per cent of families in Maan
earn less than what they need, they view government work as a long-term security
blanket, deterring many from getting industrial jobs, even at the expense of
staying on waiting lists for government jobs.
The Maan pilot project is designed to be a model for the country.
“If they succeed, it will encourage the EU and the Ministry of Planning to give
further help to these areas,” team leader Hanan Aruri said.
“The local community... believes Maan is a neglected community in Jordan,” she
added.
“They are very motivated and dedicated to changing this image.”