Jordan Times
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Government pledges to
continue reforms
By Mohammad Ben Hussein
AMMAN - The government will continue lifting subsidies next year, but intends to
implement measures to improve citizens’ living conditions, Prime Minister Nader
Dahabi told lawmakers yesterday.
Presenting his government’s policy statement to the Lower House of Parliament,
the premier said JD500 million has been put aside from next year’s budget for
the planned social safety net, out of which JD301 million will be spent on
increasing salaries of government, army and security agencies personnel.
Meanwhile, the premier said he expects “an initiative” from the private sector
to improve salaries of their employees.
Dahabi said salaries of public servants and retired personnel will be upped
parallel to inflation rates.
His Majesty King Abdullah said in the Letter of Designation that incomes should
be linked to inflation rates, while officials have been quoted as saying the
salary raises would be around 11 per cent.
Dahabi said his government would focus on reviving the economy and upgrading
infrastructure in health, education, transport and housing sectors.
He said more hospitals will be built in Balqa Governorate and the Northern Badia
while existing ones, including Karak, Zarqa and Bashir public hospitals, will
undergo renovation.
The government also promised to expand the base of health insurance coverage, to
reach 84 per cent next year.
Regarding housing projects, the government will provide 1,000 free-of-charge,
infrastructure-served plots of land to build 33,000 housing units over the
coming five years in association with the private sector.
The free land would significantly lower the cost of lodging for end-users among
the limited- and low-income segments, according to previous official statements.
The goal is to offer buyers the opportunity to pay instalments that roughly
equal the same amount paid as apartment rents.
In the Speech from the Throne early this month, the King announced 2008 as “the
year of housing”.
The plan is hoped to partly address the impact of the 2000 Landlords and Tenants
Law, under which all property lease contracts will be null and void on December
31, 2010. The Monarch said in the speech that this piece of legislation should
be revisited to ensure justice for all parties.
Dahabi promised to carry out his reform plan in line with the National Agenda
and We are All Jordan forums. Both initiatives, launched by the King over the
past few years involving key officials and experts, set guidelines for
policy-making for the coming period.
The reforms will cover the income tax system, under the guidelines set by the
National Agenda, whose concerned subcommittee recommended that taxpayers' base
be expanded, current deductions and exemptions abolished and the ceiling of
taxable individual income be raised.
Dahabi said tax collection will be improved and red tape eased and vowed to
fight tax evasion crimes.
The government will also be guided by the National Agenda in its plans for
political, social and economic reform over the next 10 years. Dahabi pledged to
carry out the most important legislative changes foreseen by the reform
document.
“Most of the visions and plans put forward require legislations…. The government
is committed to introducing new pieces of legislation and revisiting existing
ones to achieve social safety, justice and accountability,” said the premier,
calling for dialogue among all stakeholders to reach consensus over the proposed
laws.
The Landlords and Tenants Law is on the table, he said, along with others that
govern human rights, children’s rights, youth and juveniles, as well as
investment and taxation reform.
He did not elaborate on political reform, but said the Elections and Political
Parties laws will be part of this “positive and responsible dialogue”.
The National Agenda recommends a revision of the one-person, one-vote system,
applied since 1993. It proposed mixed representation in Parliament, including a
suggestion to introduce a two-tier system under which a voter elects one
candidate from his/her district and one from a nationwide political party list.
The prime minister also promised to jump-start public sector reform by
restructuring ministries and government departments.
Meanwhile, the government will not raise the electricity price for citizens who
consume less than 160 kilowatts a month. Bread prices will not be raised and the
government will all the time keep strategic supplies of basic commodities,
mainly wheat, to meet the Kingdom’s needs for six months and will make sure that
these commodities, including animal feed, are justly distributed among various
parts of the Kingdom, he added.
The recent rise in the international prices of wheat and fodder led to a higher
cost of all types of bread, except pita bread, which is still subsidised, and
meat.
Yesterday's policy statement detailed the government's strategy to fight
unemployment. It will proceed with a plan to train job seekers in cooperation
with the private sector under programmes set up by the Ministry of Labour such
as the National Recruitment and Training Programme. A key player is the recently
established and military-run National Company for Recruitment and Training,
whose mission is to train thousands of young Jordanians in the highly demanded
construction-related skills. Dahabi said the government plans to train nearly
24,000 people during 2008.
In the Letter of Designation, King Abdullah asked Dahabi to focus on
socio-economic development. The King tasked the new government with putting in
place a social safety net that covers education, health, housing and seeks to
improve incomes of civil servants, military and security personnel.
Dahabi presented the policy statement seeking the confidence of the Lower House,
which will start debating the issue on Wednesday.