Local

AMMAN — The Jordan Teachers Association (JTA) on Saturday warned of taking "escalating measures" if their demands to amend the civil service system remain "neglected".

In a statement issued on Saturday following last Monday's teachers' sit-in at the Civil Service Bureau (CSB), the association said they will organise a partial strike on Thursday and stage protests in front of the prime ministry next Monday to press for their demand.

The statement urged changing the employees' performance evaluation system, which requires institutions to have a normal distribution of the employees' rates. Under the system, each institution should count 10 per cent of employees rated as excellent, 40 very good, 40 good, 8 average and 2 weak, adding that if an employee is rated weak for two successive years, he will be dismissed from his position. 

"The normal distribution is an unfair pre-judging of employees and it kills the spirit of creativity and honest competition among them," Ahmad Hajaya, spokesperson of JTA, told The Jordan Times, adding that "supervisors may now rate employees based on the normal distribution percentages, not according to their actual performance".

"Out of the 220,000 employees who work in the public sector, 4,400 are now pre-determined to be rated weak, therefore becoming prone to losing their jobs," Hajaya said, adding that "employees were hired in the first place because they are good, so it is not reasonable to dismiss them and leave them jobless".

"They can instead undergo rehabilitation and training programmes or be transferred to another position that matches their abilities," he suggested.

For his part, CSB President Khalaf Hmeisat said that the normal distribution seeks to enhance the work efficiency in the various public departments by setting an "objective" criteria, noting that the recent evaluation system resulted in more than 70 per cent of the employees rated as excellent, which indicates the necessity of a more "precise and objective" system.

"Although the evaluation rates should be normally distributed, there is still a margin of flexibility where institutions can have more excellent rates or no weak rates at all if the institutions' outcomes prove that," Hmeisat noted.

Regarding employees' dismissal, Hmeisat said that this law has been in effect since 2007, adding that "out of the 34,000 employees who were hired during the last four years, nine were dismissed, which only happened after they had exhausted all their chances to show improvement".

The association's spokesperson also said the evaluation criteria are "relative and unregulated", describing the current system as aiming to "reduce numbers, not filtering the unqualified", and called for "a clear-cut grade according to which employees are dismissed".

"The evaluation criteria are very precise and consider the differences between various professions and positions, as we want to ensure that employees are fulfilling their duties as they are supposed to," Hmeisat pointed out.

Regarding the newlyimplemented fingerprint system, which prevents teachers from leaving before the end of the school day even if they finished teaching their classes, Hajaya said that the association is not "entirely" rejecting the system, but is seeking amendments that respect the nature of the teachers' profession. 

"Teachers represent 56 per cent of the entire public sector, so we demand that a civil service system put in place that meets our needs and respects our profession," Hajaya concluded.

AMMAN — Artist Karima Bin Otman says she tries to "bring joy and hope to people in disturbing times", describing her paintings displayed at the Wadi Finan art gallery as part of her new exhibition "Seascapes of the Soul" as “humanitarian”.

Held under the patronage of HRH Princess Wijdan, the show includes several paintings seeking to strengthen human values and go back to spirituality. “We are losing human values. Nowadays, society is full of greed and selfishness and I just want to bring hope through my art,” Bin Otman told The Jordan Times at the opening of the exhibition on Saturday.  

She explained the title of the exhibition by the “spirituality” of her pieces, reflecting on the current “materialistic” world and its effects on human relations. “At the end of the day, when we leave this world, what we bring with us is the impact we left on people, not the wealth or the status we have accomplished,” she explained.

Bin Otman’s solo exhibition presents surrealistic pieces full of colour and strong lines inspired by her personal background in different countries. Born in London to Jordanian and Libyan parents, she moved to Amman when she was nine and studied in Italy in the 1990s. She now lives in Cyprus where she has her own gallery.

“My childhood in Jordan had an impact on my work through Arabic calligraphy, which is why my art is full of strong lines,” the artist explained. 

She also recognised the Western influence on her art stemming from her studies in Italy. “My freedom to express the human portrait comes from my time in Europe; the use of nudity by Arab artists is not very common,” Bin Otman remarked.

Her enthusiasm to make change through art led her to become an Art Ambassador for Peace under the international initiative of Women in Art for Peace, whereby over 20 female artists from around the globe met to promote peace through cultural events and art exhibitions. 

 “Women have had so many other responsibilities that they haven’t been able to focus on art as men have been doing throughout history,” she noted, adding “Nowadays, leaders just think about destruction, they create wars for their own interests. It is about time that we start putting our hands together to think of the wellbeing of the majority, and not just of the individuals.”

The exhibition will be running through May 7.

AMMAN — Renewable energy projects entail costs reaching up to JD180 million on the National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) to increase the capacity of the national grid, NEPCO Director General Abdel Fattah Daradkeh said on Sunday.

Daradkeh made the remarks during a press conference announcing the launch of the "Challenges and obstacles for the future of electric power systems" conference, to kick off on Tuesday under the patronage of Prime Minister Hani Mulki, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The director general said that the annual cost of the electric capacity at NEPCO stands at JD350 million, while operational costs reach up to JD200 million, noting that salaries and other expenditures amount to JD1 million per year.

He said that the conference aims at enhancing cooperation and exchange of expertise among stakeholders in the sectors of energy and electricity, as well as discussing challenges facing the future of electric power systems.

The government is interested in investments in the green energy sector which helps in reducing costs, Daradkeh said, adding that the Kingdom is keeping pace with developments in the renewable energy field through developing laws that encourage and attract more projects to the sector. 

He said the renewable energy contribution, both from solar and wind resources to the overall energy mix in the Kingdom is expected to reach 25 per cent by 2021.

Renewable energy projects in Jordan started in 2016 with ten schemes expected to generate 2,700 megawatts of electricity by 2021, 715 megawatts of which will be from wind resources, the NEPCO official pointed out.

He stressed the company's readiness to cope with power loads that may exceed 4,000 megawatts this summer, noting that the maximum load last year stood at 3,300 megawatts.

NEPCO seeks to benefit from renewable energy sources to produce electricity through implementing the Green Corridor project, with a total length of 150 kilometres, which links various locations around the Kingdom, Petra said.

Daradkeh said they expect the project to be ready by the end of this year, adding that the scheme can accommodate up to 1,200 megawatts of renewable energy generated from the first two phases of projects implemented by the public and private sectors. 

The Green Corridor project will help transfer electric power of 800 to 1,000 megawatts of renewable energy from the southern region of the Kingdom to load centres in other regions in the country, according to Petra.

AMMAN — The United Nations Foundation is holding its biannual spring board meeting in Amman, marking the second time it has convened in the Jordanian capital since October 2007. 

Her Majesty Queen Rania, who has been a UN Foundation board member since 2006, is also attending the meeting, a statement by Her Majesty’s Office said. 

The UN Foundation builds public-private partnerships to address the world’s most pressing problems, and broadens support for the UN through advocacy and public outreach. Through innovative campaigns and initiatives in issue areas including peace and security, health, climate, women’s and girls’ empowerment, and technology, the Foundation connects people, ideas, and resources to help the UN solve global problems.

The Foundation was established in 1998 as a US public charity by entrepreneur, philanthropist and Chairman of Turner Enterprises Inc. Ted Turner, with the mission of supporting the work of the UN.

It focuses on issues that can help countries progress, including by tackling infectious and deadly diseases, unlocking more finance for development, improving gender data to advance opportunity for women and girls, and finding ways to help the most vulnerable populations including refugees.

This year’s board meeting includes discussions and roundtable meetings with the participation of UN community members and influential Jordanian figures. 

Led by Jordan’s UN resident and humanitarian coordinator, Anders Pedersen, heads of UN agencies in the country will brief the board on their ongoing programmes in Jordan and their future projects. 

Additionally, prominent Jordanian figures will brief board members on pressing issues pertaining to Jordan and the region. These include Minister of Education Omar Razzaz, former Jordanian minister of foreign affairs and former UN special envoy to Libya, Abdel Elah Al Khatib, former Jordanian minister of social development, Reem Abu Hassan, and Editor-in-Chief of Alghad Newspaper Jumana Ghuneimat.

The board will also host a reception with the UN community and a group of up-and-coming Jordanian social entrepreneurs, who will present their startup businesses and success stories. 

Finally, the board will visit local community support centres supported by UNHCR that provide services to both Syrian refugees and Jordanian nationals.

In addition to Queen Rania and Turner, chairman and founder of the Foundation, the board counts 13 other members, including president and CEO Kathy Calvin; director of SOAS University of London Valerie Amos; former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan; former director-general of the World Health Organisation and former Prime Minister of Norway Gro Harlem Brundtland, among others.

AMMAN — A knowledge forum bringing together representatives from ministries, journalists, researchers, students and representatives from the private sector kicked off on Sunday, marking the opening of the Knowledge Week organised by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Dubai-based Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation (MBRF). 

Speaking at the opening of the forum, which was held under his patronage, Education Minister Omar Razzaz stressed the importance of critical thinking and constructive criticism in schools and universities, saying “these skills are key to unleashing innovation and creativity in Arab countries and knowledge is a crucial means to empower people”.

The minister was speaking alongside Khaled Abdel Shafi, director of the UNDP’s regional Hub for Arab States (HBAS), Saif Al Mansoury, MBRF representative and Hany Torky, chief technical advisor of the UNDP Knowledge Project.

Abdel Shafi briefed the audience on the Global Knowledge Index (GKI), an advocacy tool aimed at highlighting the strategic role of knowledge and the importance of developing objective and scientific tools to measure and evaluate knowledge, commending the “long lasting partnership between the UNDP and MBRF” in this regard.

First announced during the Knowledge Summit 2016 in Dubai, the GKI encompasses seven sectorial indices: pre-university education, technical and vocational education and training, higher education, research, development and innovation, information and communications technology (ICT), economy and a supporting index on the general enabling environment, according to the website Knowledge4All.

Commenting on the index, Razzaz said: “The GKI is a tool that will help the government of Jordan improve its knowledge system, especially the education sector.”

His remark was echoed by Al Mansoury, who talked about the contribution that the index and knowledge in general can bring to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. 

“Through the Knowledge Forum, our foundation wanted to provide an opportunity for stakeholders in the Arab countries to see the results of the GKI and the most important topics tackled at the Knowledge Summit,” the MBRF representative said, noting the importance of continuity and annual reviews in the field.

The opening session was followed by discussions on the results of Jordan in the GKI, the fourth industrial revolution and Jordan’s experience in facing illiteracy, which saw the participation of various experts such as the Secretary General at the Ministry of Youth Thabet Al Nabulsi, former head of the University of Jordan Ekhleif Tarawneh, former minister of culture Lana Mamkegh, Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation’s Director General Valentina Qussisiya, Director General of the Banks’ Association Adli Kandah and officials from the chambers of commerce and industry and the Amman Stock Exchange. 

“One of the main reasons of unemployment in the Arab States nowadays lies in the lack of skills,” said UNDP official Tokry, stressing the need to “invest in future skills to meet new job market requirements in light of the index’s findings”. 

First launched in Egypt in March 2018, engaging 2,100 students, professors, and researchers, the Knowledge Week will be held in different cities in the Arab region and beyond to “drive active conversation and raise awareness on the importance of knowledge and knowledge-based policies for sustainable development by targeting students, professors, academics, researchers, journalists, media figures and policymakers”, HBAS Research Officer Diana Assaf told The Jordan Times.

Running through Thursday, the Jordanian Knowledge Week will be followed by a series of gatherings and discussions with professors, academics and students of the University of Jordan, Yarmouk University, and Mutah University, in addition to a meeting with the Department of Statistics.

AMMAN — Traffic officials on Sunday said a defect in one of the tyres of the vehicle belonging to the late MP Mohammad Amamreh caused the deadly accident on the Desert Highway on Saturday night.

Deputy Amamreh and seven people, including six of his family members, were killed in a road collision with a winch truck while driving in a detour area near Sawaqa.

“The right-rear tyre malfunctioned, causing the deputy’s vehicle to suddenly swerve to the other side of the two-lane road and collide head on with the winch,” a senior traffic official said.

“There were scratches on the road that were caused by the wheel’s rim because of the rubber that tore,” the senior traffic official told The Jordan Times, adding that the strong impact on the two-lane road, where there was road construction, caused the “immediate death of seven people, including five children".

The traffic official said that Amamreh was heading back to Amman when the accident occurred.

Several people criticised the condition of the area where the accident occurred, including the detour and the construction, saying it “did not comply with safety protocols”.

Mustafa Sheshiny wrote on the Traffic Department's Facebook page where the accident's latest news was posted: “If there was a street divider in this failed detour, the damages would be much less. All trucks and heavy vehicles drive very fast and it could become very dangerous.”

Mahmoud Ali added: “I believe the government should lift taxes on vehicle’s tyres because tyres play a major factor in accidents.”

AMMAN — Dignitaries from the British embassy, the Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) and UK’s Royal Veterinary College (RVC) on Sunday celebrated with Higher Education Ministr Adel Tweisi the success of a joint programme aimed at reducing the threat from infectious diseases in the Middle East by improving public health. 

Supported by the UK and the US, the project twinned JUST and the RVC three years ago, with the purpose of enhancing the delivery of veterinary education while fostering the collaboration between European and Middle Eastern scientific communities, and strengthening the Kingdom’s capacity to ensure biosecurity through a stronger regional disease surveillance. 

 “The Veterinary Education Twinning Programme is making a huge impact on JUST graduates and Jordan’s veterinary and public health sectors,” JUST professor Ehab Abu Basha said, expressing hopes for the platform to “transform veterinary education and improve public health not just in Jordan, but in the entire Middle East and the Arab world”.

The collaboration among both educational institutions is built on the framework of an international partnership programme comprising more than 30 countries, which aims to improve national capacities in detecting and controlling infectious diseases while strengthening biosecurity systems. 

Managed by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the project has successfully developed teaching expertise at both institutions through mutual visits, research projects and integration with joint specialised workshops in different areas of veterinary medicine and biosecurity. 

“This project is demonstrative of how the curriculum at JUST is developed to address priority topics such as public health, animal production and welfare,” OIE Director General Monique Eloit highlighted, adding that “the partnering of postgraduate students from RVC and JUST on research projects has furthermore enabled synergies to be optimised, and significant results to be yielded”.

OIE regional representative Ghazi Yehia pointed out that “this successful twinning has developed a continuous and sustainable link between parties; it has allowed them to develop better expertise and capacity in preserving animal health, and it will soon provide support and collaboration to other regional countries”.

Bruscellosis, an infectious disease that can spread from farm animals to humans, and Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), which is believed to spread from camels to humans, are some of the biological risks addressed in the project, which aspires to tackle such threats while contributing to Jordan’s food security and ability to export animal products. 

“In challenging times and an uncertain world, the RVC is committed to its global citizenship and international obligations. It has been a pleasure to translate this commitment to a reality, making impact in a domain that is pivotal to economic and social stability.” RVC professor Stuart Reid said.

For his part, British Ambassador Edward Oakden stressed the importance of the project, referring to the beginning of the “mad cow disease” spread in the UK back in the 1990s.

“I was working at the prime minister’s office when the mad cow disease started spreading, and I still remember the huge popular fear and cultural convulsion over the fact that the disease could spread to humans,” the ambassador recalled.

AMMAN — President of Jordan Environment Union (JEU) Omar Shoshan on Sunday called for “arranging the inner house” of the country’s over 124 environment societies and NGOs to better consolidate efforts that ensure the safety and protection of the environment.

During JEU’s second national annual conference, Shoshan stressed the importance of “having all of Jordan’s environment NGOs and societies on one page” to efficiently identify the Kingdom’s environmental challenges and pressing issues and devise solutions that protect the environment and the public health.

“We are extending today an open invitation to all of the environmental NGOs and societies in every governorate to become active members under the JEU. We are seeking to create environmental justice in every part of the country,” Shoshan said at the opening of the conference.

The JEU president also urged the creation of a strategic partnership between the government — represented by the Ministry of Environment — the Parliament and the private sector.

“We call for setting up a strategic institutional partnership that brings together environment NGOs and societies as well as the government, the Parliament and the private sector to work for addressing the environmental challenges in a comprehensive and integrated approach.

The conference, which brought together representatives of environment societies from all governorates, is held by the JEU in cooperation with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.

It aims to provide a platform for the country’s environmental NGOs to exchange knowledge and expertise in the implementation of projects, secure funding for their projects and explore entrepreneurship opportunities in the environment sector.

Meanwhile, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Deputy Resident Director and Coordinator of Regional Programmes Richard Probst said that the environmental aspect is an integral part of justice.

“We are mistaken if we take justice only as social justice and do not integrate into the social justice also the environmental aspect, environmental justice is a very important aspect of justice. Climate justice is also a very important aspect of justice. Environmental justice usually is on a local level; climate justice is something between the global south and the global north,” Probst said.

Probst noted that environmental injustice is something that , unfortunately, persists in Amman, underlining that environment NGOs and societies across the country provide legitimacy to the JEU to negotiate and to be a “counterpart” to the Environment Ministry and the government as a whole.

AMMAN — The Kingdom will observe a public holiday on Tuesday, May 1, on the occasion of Labour Day, according to a communiqué issued by Prime Minister Hani Mulki on Sunday. In the communiqué, the prime minister congratulated all workers on the occasion, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

AMMAN — Prime Minister Hani Mulki on Sunday highlighted a Cabinet decision issued in October, 2004, regarding the accreditation of the temporary residency card for Gazans living in the Kingdom.

In a communiqué circulated to all ministries and public and private departments, Mulki called for authorising this document issued by the Civil Status and Passports Department and considering it a main document that is credited for various transactions of Gazan people, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.