Tafileh residents decry service shortages, ‘empty promises’

AMMAN — Residents of Tafileh Governorate are voicing their disappointment as ongoing promises from officials to provide better services to the governorate have thus far fallen short. 

Tafileh Governorate is located some 183 kilometres southwest of Amman, with an estimated population of around 30,000. 

The Jordan Times spoke with residents of the Sheetham, Abu Banna and Sweemeeh districts of Tafileh Governorate, who explained that Tafileh is marked by an “absence” of public parks, expressed growing concern with the lack of a governorate-wide wastewater management system, claiming that over 70 per cent of the governorate is not covered by a sewage system. 

Ali Quran, who lives in Sheetham District, told The Jordan Times that Tafileh residents live in “deplorable conditions”.

“The state of the streets is terrible, there are no public parks or youth centres in my area — definitely no activities for children,” Quran said. 

Quran also noted that the majority of Sheetham’s farmers had to abandon their land, and called on the government to support the agriculture sector in the governorate as a method of reducing unemployment, “Sheetham used to be an agricultural area. However, due to a drought affecting water springs used for irrigation, farmers had no way to water their crops,” said Quran. 

“Despite the fact that there are many tourists attractions in Tafileh, authorities insist on neglecting them, and refuse to renovate the streets that lead to tourist sites,” Quran added. 

Salamah Khataba, another Tafileh resident, reiterated concerns about the governorate’s lack of a proper sewage system. 

“Every year we demand that the authorities expand the sewage system coverage. They never hear us; they just give us empty promises,” Khataba told The Jordan Times. 

Tafileh resident Abdel Rahman Muheisen concurred with other residents, and told The Jordan Times that the governorate lacks services, infrastructure and “basic facilities”. 

“Streets are falling apart, and the municipality is not cooperating,” Muheisen added. 

Roads leading to tourist areas are not paved, he said, adding that there are no hotels or restaurants that cater to tourists in Tafileh. 

Ministry of Water and Irrigation spokesperson Omar Salameh told The Jordan Times that there are “wide” areas of Tafileh that are not covered by a sewage system.

However, several projects “will be launched soon” to extend the wastewater system’s coverage, Salameh said.

As for the drought affecting the governorate’s water springs and the abandonment of agricultural land, Salameh said that the ministry does not provide farmers with irrigation lines.