Senate approves draft budget law without changes

AMMAN – The Senate on Sunday endorsed the 2016 draft budget law as referred from the Lower House with no changes. 

The senators needed one meeting to okay the bill, but its concerned panel made recommendations as guidelines for the government, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported, including  the establishment of a specialised unit to make sure that economic projects included in the bill  would have the envisioned impact on development.

Reading a report containing the Senate's Financial and Economic Committee's notes on the budget, Senator Jawad Anani recommended that the Amman Stock Exchange be converted into a public shareholding company in addition to activating the Investment Commission.

According to Petra, the committee also called for allowing citizens to install solar panels and recommended no renewal of the monopoly contract signed with the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company, which is so far the only company allowed to import and refine oil. 

Anani, the panel's rapporteur, urged the government to clarify its strategy to pay the accumulated debts of the Water Authority and the Jordan Electric Power Company, Petra said.

The committee also called for supporting the education and agriculture sectors, reconsidering the distribution of public healthcare centres, and protecting forest lands, Petra added.

The panel recommended that the government prepare a well-defined rehabilitation and recruitment plan in addition to implementing mega projects as part of the strategy to improve the situation in governorates, according to Petra. 

GAM said on Sunday that 5,000 municipal staff were on standby and would be working around-the-clock during this week.

“The municipal staff will constantly check the state of the manholes to prevent the flooding of streets and tunnels. In addition, a winter fleet of 140 vehicles is also on standby including snowploughs, bulldozers and tow trucks,” GAM Spokesperson Izzedin Shammout told The Jordan Times.

Meanwhile, the Jordanian Electric Power Company said it had in place a “decentralised” emergency plan that would ensure early response to electricity-related calls, officials said on Sunday. 

Ali Hadid, president of the Electricity Workers Union, said around 1,700 workers, employees and management staff will be deployed to work during the expected blizzard this week. 

“We are cooperating with the management to provide the emergency workers with safety gear,” he told The Jordan Times.  

The syndicate official said the positive development in this year’s emergency plan is that the work process is decentralised so that fixing electricity breakdowns would take less time than it used to in previous years. 

“We have also moved metres to safer places so that they are not flooded by water,” he added. 

A total of 250 electricity metres in the capital have been changed after they were damaged in heavy rainfall late last year, according to the company and a unionist. 

Meanwhile, the Central Traffic Department (CTD) on Sunday urged the public to stay at home and restrict their movements to emergencies to avoid blocking roads and enable emergency vehicles to help people in need.

“We urge the public to adhere to warning announcements by officials, especially those related to icy roads, which make it extremely difficult and dangerous to drive,” CTD Director Col. Basem Kharabsheh said.