Crown Prince inaugurates Government Services Centre in Madaba, visits culinary arts excellence centre

AMMAN — HRH Crown Prince Hussein on Thursday inaugurated the Government Services Centre in Madaba, which offers 118 services from 24 government agencies.

The centre is open from 9am to 12 midnight every day except Fridays, and services can be obtained either by booking an appointment through “Sanad” application, or by directly visiting it, according to a Royal Court statement. 

Crown Prince Hussein stressed the importance of continuing the expansion plan of establishing government services centres across all governorates, given their importance in easing citizens’ access to public services.

His Royal Highness said e-government services should include the majority of government transactions, making it unnecessary for citizens to physically visit government departments except for specific procedures.

The Crown Prince listened to a briefing by Government Services Centres Director Dima Al Nahar on the services provided by the Madaba Government Services Centre, the statement said. 

Nahar said the centre's strategic location inside the bus station near the city's commercial centre makes it easily accessible and available to serve neighbouring areas, such as Naour, Umm Al Amad, Maeen, Husban and Dhiban.

The centre, supervised by the Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, is the seventh of its kind as part of a plan to cover all governorates. 

Other centres are open in Mugabalein, the Queen Alia International Airport, Irbid, and Tafileh, while centres in Aqaba and Maan are being operated on a trial basis.

Minister of State for Public Sector Development Kheirallah Abu Seileek, Minister of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship Sami Smeirat, and Director of the Office of the Crown Prince Zaid Al Baqain accompanied His Royal Highness on the visit.

 Also on Thursday, Crown Prince Hussein visited the Madaba Centre of Excellence for Culinary Arts affiliated with the Vocational Training Corporation (VTC).

The centre was established through a partnership between the VTC and the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts (RACA), aimed at opening centres of excellence for culinary arts in Irbid, Jerash, Aqaba and Madaba, according to a nother Royal Court statement. 

His Royal Highness commended the interest of youth in benefiting from the centre’s training services, stressing that the skills they acquire will help them obtain job opportunities in the tourism sector.

The Crown Prince also highlighted the importance of supporting youth in Madaba to launch their projects in cooperation with “Dar Abu Abdullah Foundation” team, a non-profit that focuses on social development and economic empowerment.

His Royal Highness toured the centre's food, beverage and hospitality services departments, and was briefed by VTC Director General Ahmed Gharaibeh on the centre's programmes, and its role in promoting partnership between the public and private sectors to provide job opportunities for graduates of vocational and technical education and training, the statement said. 

Gharaibeh said the centre is currently training 75 people since the launch of its programmes in November, pointing out that the institution signed an agreement to employ the first batch of its graduates.

Tourism Minister Lina Annab, Labour Minister and VTC Chairman Khaled Bakkar, RACA Chairman Wajih Owais, and Director of the Office of the Crown Prince Zaid Al Baqain accompanied His Royal Highness on the visit.