Gov’t to spend JD122m in Maan in 2016 — Fakhoury

AMMAN — The government will spend JD122 million on the Maan Governorate development programme in 2016, Planning and International Cooperation Minister Imad Fakhoury said on Wednesday.

Some JD110 million is being spent on development projects in the governorate, around 220km south of Amman, Fakhoury said at a meeting with officials and local community representatives in Maan. 

Meanwhile, the ministry has allocated JD3.275 million to civil society organisations and individuals for ongoing and new productive projects, the minister said.

These include a project established in cooperation with the Labour Ministry, at a cost of JD0.4 million, as well as JD0.5 million in funding for loans to individuals in Maan. 

The Planning Ministry has coordinated with several government parties, including the General Budget Department, to provide JD6 million in development funding to Maan that was not listed in the ministries’ budgets for 2016.

Meanwhile, funding to mitigate the effects of the influx of Syrian refugees in Maan was directed through the Jordan Response Plan, the minister said. 

Around JD5.7 million was allocated to various sectors, including education and health, during 2015 and 2016. 

The government increased financial allocations to national loaning institutions to create job opportunities in accordance with the governorates’ development programmes for 2016-2018.  

The minister said his visit to Maan was in line with the Royal directive to prepare development plans in partnership with civil society and the private sector, according to each governorate’s competitive advantages. 

The Planning Ministry coordinated with donors to identify the sector-based priorities for each governorate, the minister said, noting that USAID had conducted field visits to the governorates, including Maan, accompanied by a team from the ministry to discuss those priorities. 

Over the next two years, development programmes will be updated and government plans will be created through field coordination with each governorate to meet local priorities and demands, in line with the government’s decentralisation plan, the ministry said. 

The decentralisation scheme is expected to go into effect mid next year, to see elections of local councils that will handle budgeting and prioritising development projects. 

Fakhoury met with civil society organisations and government funds that provide technical support for self-employment projects, and small- and medium-sized enterprises. 

They briefed the minister on programmes, funding loans and grants available in the governorate, he said. 

Among the financing options is a self-employment initiative, valued at JD25 million for this year, Fakhoury said, adding that his ministry was willing to increase the available funds in order to reduce poverty and unemployment.