Gov’t measures for new year sparks disappointment, outrage

AMMAN — The government’s fresh set of measures for the new year was received with disappointment and anger by citizens and sector representatives.

Speaking during a press conference that was broadcast live on Wednesday from the Prime Ministry, Minister of State for Media Affairs Ali Al Ayed said that “in light of the epidemiological developments in the Kingdom, the government was careful to make safe and gradual plans for the reopening of sectors”.

Ayed said that the government’s initial plan was to reopen sectors and allow citizens and the economy “to breathe”, but with the new strand of the virus in the UK and the new wave of cases in the world, “we were careful to balance between the health, social and economic aspects”.

Reacting to the government’s new measures, President of the Wedding Venues and Planning Businesses Association Mamun Al Manaseer told The Jordan Times on Thursday that the decisions are “ill-considered and lack credibility”, noting that “it is really disappointing that decision makers make lots of promises, but they never stick to what they say”.

The economy is collapsed and is in great need of revitalisation, Manaseer said, adding that nothing really changed, the government only reduced curfew by two hours, which means no "effective decisions were taken”.

There is a liquidity crisis and many sectors are on the brink of collapse, Manaseer said, adding that at first “businesses were trying to stay afloat, but with no true support from the government, the situation will only worsen”.

During the press briefing, Ayed deemed the decisions as “safe, gradual and balanced”, but on the other hand, a group of citizens voiced disappointment about the new measures, saying that they expected that some changes would be made, especially regarding Friday lockdowns.

Building trust between the government and citizens is of utmost importance, but “there is no such thing in Jordan”, Salma Ali, a general manager at a fitness centre, told The Jordan Times over the phone on Thursday.

“There will be no glimmers of hope any time soon,” according to Ali, who also said that Jordan’s fitness industry has faced protracted hardships and is in need of “genuine support”.

May Bader, a Jordanian citizen, said that the government’s announcement “sparked public anger”, but she hopes that the government has taken “a forward- looking approach and has put the interest of the Kingdom and Jordanians at the fore”.