15 gov't agencies cancelled in past few years — Khawaldeh

AMMAN — Minister of Public Sector Development Khleef Al Khawaldeh on Sunday said that 15 government agencies were cancelled over the past years and their mandates transferred to other departments. 

In a statement summing up his ministry’s accomlishments, the minister said the agency has also compiled over 2,070 guidebooks for services offered by public departments, adding that inspection teams from the ministry have also conducted more than 141 unannounced visits to check on the quality of services provided government agencies across the Kingdom. 

 Some 36 guidebooks were issued over the past few years, focusing on issues related to improving public sector services, restructuring and managing human resources, governance and risk management, the minister said, adding that his ministry has also conducted more than 80 training programmes and workshops, in addition to publishing over 125 technical reports in the field of operations, simplifying measures, electronic connection of services, evaluating governance practices in the public sector, Jordan in international reports and studies on women in the public sector. 

The ministry has reviewed and developed nine legislative frameworks in the fields of restructuring the government body, developing organisational structures, civil service and service development. 

The ministry has had a role in supporting the process of preparing the National Integrity Charter, the executive plan to enhance the system of national integrity and following up on implementing them in the government sector. 

Khawaldeh highlighted a plan that saw the unification of human resources systems in ministries and government institutions to be incorporated in one system instead of 50 previously.

Khawaldeh said the average growth in the number of employees in the public sector from 2013-2015 amounted to less than 1 per cent while between 2009 and 2011 it was 2.3 per cent, which means recruitment dropped by 58 per cent, adding that average growth rate in salaries in the public sector stood at 5.2 per cent during 2013-2015 while it was 8.9 per cent from 2009-2011, recording a 42 per cent drop.

The ministry's efforts have recently helped it gain the support of the USAID and the EU to implement its programmes and projects for this year and the upcoming four years, he said.