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Government presents policy statement to Lower House

Mulki says plan guided by will to serve national interests

By JT - Nov 17,2016 - Last updated at Nov 17,2016

Prime Minister Hani Mulki delivers the policy statement to the Lower House on Wednesday (Petra photo)

AMMAN — Prime Minister Hani Mulki on Wednesday said the government is working on a comprehensive programme to face internal and external challenges in order to sustain safety and security in the Kingdom and achieve the envisioned political and economic reforms.

Presenting the government's policy statement seeking the Lower House's confidence, the premier said the government's programme takes into consideration, first and foremost, the higher national interests as guidelines for all government policies and decisions, in partnership and cooperation with the House, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

Regarding political reform, Mulki said the government will use His Majesty King Abdullah's sixth discussion paper as the reference framework for the comprehensive reforms, and to push forward the democratic process in a manner that boosts citizen participation in decision making as people are the main partner in the building and development processes. 

Building on the success of September's Lower House elections, the prime minister said the government aims to achieve further success in the municipal and governorate councils elections next year.

In this regard, the government has completed all necessary systems, drawn up policies and set general frameworks to implement the decentralisation and municipalities laws to provide a legislative structure that enables the Independent Election Commission to carry out preparations to polls simultaneously in the summer of 2017, Mulki said in the statement.

As for state budget indicators for 2017, the premier said the government is going to start identifying the projects to be implemented around the Kingdom, noting that management of the projects will be delegated to local institutions, a decision he described as the first step towards liberating the spending process. 

In 2018, each governorate will have its own budget and capital projects and these budgets will be decided by lawmakers as part of the public budget draft law, the premier said.

On economy, Mulki said the government is aware that the present economic challenges are the toughest facing the Kingdom ever, leading governments to take difficult decisions.

Based on the recommendations of the Economic Policies Council (EPC), Mulki said, the government will soon complete the drafting and amending of laws included in the EPC report to improve national economy, including those governing companies, real estate ownership and mobile assets, in addition to other important economic regulations to be presented to the Lower House via constitutional channels. 

The government will also revisit the State Budget Law, seeking to adjust it to meet the best international practices, Mulki announced. 

In this context, the government and the Central Bank of Jordan, in cooperation with the banking industry and international institutions, will all work to secure new funding sources amounting up to JD420 million at the end of this year in order to stimulate investment and support small enterprises and national exports, Mulki said.

He said that the government will also empower institutions concerned with investment, including the Jordan Investment Commission and the Jordan Investment Fund, as well as promote investment opportunities around the Kingdom. 

The government will also update regulations to better the business environment to meet the demands of local investments and attract foreign ones, in addition to providing enough flexibility in the procedures to register individual companies.

Treasury funding available is not sufficient to meet the investment demands of the public sector, thus the government has sought to activate the law on partnership with the private sector so that local and foreign funding would be secured to contribute in building facilities and necessary projects, adopting the lease system, Mulki said, adding that would stop the public debt surge and activate the role of banks and financial institutions in funding investments and, consequently, help stimulate national economy. 

As for stumbling public shareholding companies, Mulki said the government would implement international standards to solve the problem. 

The government will continue its focus on the vocational training programme, benefiting from the expertise of advanced countries in the field to establish vocational training centres that apply international standards, the premier said, adding that the Badia and remote areas will receive special attention when development gains are distributed, and will be given funding priorities. 

As for industrial products, the government is expected to approve the industrial policy for 2017-2021 with the aim of improving products and encouraging innovation and competition, thus boosting national exports and finding new markets,
including Africa. 

The government will also continue subsidising essential food items to alleviate the burdens on citizens, making sure that subsidies only go to those who deserve them, Mulki said, noting that currently, only 50 per cent of subsidisation goes to those who deserve it, which means that there has to be studies to find ways to stop the waste. 

Mulki also highlighted the measures to be taken to improve the performance of tourism in the Kingdom as well as working on the agricultural sector to improve the products and increase their demand, and preserve forest areas.

In the social field, Mulki said the government will work on updating the strategy to combat poverty to include the social protection aspect, noting that preparations are under way to survey the income of families in order to determine poverty pockets and implement investment interventions through productive projects that generate income and provide jobs. 

Moreover, the government will assume a major role in combating extremism through focusing on the role of imams and religious scholars in such a fight and rendering mosques beacons of knowledge and moral education. 

Regarding education, the process of updating the curricula is important and there is no going back, but the changes will not touch religious or national constants, Mulki said, adding that the government also plans to train and rehabilitate teachers in support of the efforts exerted by Her Majesty Queen Rania. 

One of the means to combat poverty and unemployment is supporting the employment of women, Mulki noted, adding that the government has adopted a new set of measures towards that end that include allowing women to practise various professions from the home, encouraging them to establish small and medium projects and providing them with training in the agricultural and industrial fields. 

As for public administration reform, Mulki said the government will adopt the sixth discussion paper by His Majesty as the base of an action plan that aims at boosting the rule of law, adding that the government will also work to address the overlapping in the mandates of ministries and other government departments. 

In regard to the services sector, the prime minister said the government has embarked on a study of the health insurance situation and will begin gradually exempting those over 80 years of age from the fees of subscription in health insurance, starting this year. Later, there will be exemptions for lower age categories until all are insured. 

As for water, the government will continue applying large-scale strategic projects and applying the law firmly against violators who trespass on public resources, Mulki said, adding that as for transport, the government will carry on with implementing projects to meet the public’s need of a decent transportation system.

In the field of foreign policy, the government will work on achieving a political solution to the Syrian crisis and continue efforts to combat terrorism and extremism in Iraq, Yemen, Libya and other countries in the region. 

In light of regional instability, the government will support all possible means to improve the performance and structure of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army and security bodies, so that they can secure the internal front and the borders more efficiently and professionally, the premier told lawmakers. 

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