All we need is a government that listens to King's guidelines

His Majesty King Abdullah said last week that it is unfair that citizens alone should bear the cost of the implications of the financial reforms. The King also called on the government and all of its institutions and bureaucracies to effectively control and rationalise their expenditure.

I hope that the government, with all of its branches, has listened to the loud and clear messages of the King. The various successive governments had been sent similar instructions but without avail, as they have all seemed to be inattentive and none of them had made one single vivid illustration of their respect and implementation of the King's repeated signals. The King made these firm messages at a time when the country was embroiled in a national debate about the controversial draft income tax legislation.

Recently, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced during his reelection campaign that one of his new platforms is to cut down on the number of ministries and obliterate bureaucracies that are duplicating one another;  all in a determined effort to rationalise state expenditures. Erdogan made this pledge even though the Turkish economy is red hot and accelerating at a very high rate. Our government is, therefore, invited to show where it has heeded the King's instructions by giving examples, not slogans.

The public is thirsty to hear about one single major corruption case that ended in the recollection of the stolen state funds. There are many such cases, but bringing them to fruition remains elusive. This is very disturbing to the people, especially when they are called upon to bear the cost of reforms.

The public is also yearning to hear of cases where the government is indeed cutting down on its expenses and rationalising expenditure. None of this has been seen or heard. To give just a few non exhaustive examples of where the government can do just that: Does the country truly need regional local governments? The country is small enough to allow for carrying out duties at the local level, without the added cost of local governments. And do we need so many members of parliament, either at the Lower House or at the Senate? A country the size of Jordan does not really need such a big number of parliamentarians or senators.

And why do we need so many ministries. Again, a county the size of Jordan can do with a much less number of ministries. Do we need three high courts, even when the US has only one such court! Why in the world do we need three high courts, when one with two or three chambers can manage to deal with both constitutional and non-constitutional cases!

By the same token, do we really need this Royal commission on integrity? And do we need so many embassies and so many diplomats? Are they all cost effective? And what about the Economic and Social Council. What in the world do we need such a bureaucracy for?

One can go on and on citing other examples of wasteful expenditure and all that is needed is a government that listens carefully to the King's guiding principles.