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AMMAN — In a step to involve citizens in the decision-making process, the Finance Ministry on Wednesday launched a whitepaper that paves the way for the implementation of fiscal decentralisation across the country's governorates.

The project, supported by the USAID-funded Fiscal Reform and Public Financial Management Activity, seeks to enable the recently elected local councils across the governorates to set the priorities and needs of capital projects and services, fix budgets and monitor their spending in future, Ezzedine Kanakrieh, secretary general of the Ministry of Finance, told reporters on Wednesday.

"At present, there is centralisation when it comes to allocating finances for projects and even choosing which projects to be financed… under the fiscal decentralisation scheme, local councils will set funding priorities and manage the spending and the monitoring in the future as well," he said.

The whitepaper on fiscal decentralisation policy across governorates will be gradually discussed with local councils and all stakeholders in preparation for its implementation, he added.

"The scheme entails that local councils which were elected during the decentralisation elections decide the priorities and manage spending on development projects. Spending on capital projects will be decentralised  to ensure more efficiency and better results," he added.

The government has allocated JD220 million for 2018 to spend on capital projects across the governorates, which will be handled by the local councils, he said.

"This amount does not include numbers allocated for projects that are already under implementation or projects that have national a involvement of more than one governorate like a highway for example… at the same time, financial allocations for municipalities will be continued. The JD220 million is only for the projects to be set, managed and monitored by the local councils across the governorates," he added.

Thirty per cent of the total amount will be distributed equally between governorates, while the remaining amount will be distributed based on several factors including the rate of poverty and unemployment in a certain governorate, the size of the governorate, the population, among others, he explained.

“The project will be implemented gradually and during the implementation we will be monitoring progress and performance,” the official added. 

Meeting with stakeholders at Aqaba governor’s office, General Budget Department Director Mohammad Hazaimeh further explained that the remaining ratio will be distributed according to five criteria, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

He said these include the size population (35 per cent), poverty ratio (25 per cent), unemployment rate (25 per cent), the size of the governorate’s area (5 per cent) and the existence or lack of economic establishments (10 per cent), explaining that the more economic establishments there are, the lower the share in the allocation will be.

Kanakrieh concluded that the idea of fiscal decentralisation is to enable local communities and elected local councils to decide how to spend allocations on priority development projects in their respective areas, noting that a committee was formed to oversee the implementation of the fiscal decentralisation plan.

AMMAN — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said that it is coordinating with the Jordanian embassy in Tel Aviv to follow up on the arrest of three Jordanian men in the Red Sea city of Eilat, The Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Wednesday. 

The three were arrested on Tuesday evening for questioning in the case of an attack on an Israeli girl at a tourist hotel in Eilat. 

Two of them were released while the third was being interrogated due to having a criminal record for his involvement in a theft, according to the initial investigation, according to Petra.

The Jordanian consul in Tel Aviv was in Eilat Wednesday to find out the details of the investigation and legal procedures.

More than 1,500 Jordanians have been allowed by the Israeli government to work in the Red Sea resort, especially in the hospitality sector.

The workers do not spend the night in the town. They are transported from Aqaba on a daily basis. 

According to reports, the Israeli authorities announced that the attack on the woman was driven by a criminal rather than political motive. 

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Tuesday headed the Jordanian delegation participating in the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly that kicked off in New York.

King Abdullah and HRH Crown Prince Hussein attended the opening session of the General Assembly that was held with the participation of several heads of state and delegations of member states in the international organisation, according to a Royal Court statement. 

On the sidelines of the annual meeting, His Majesty, in the presence of Crown Prince Hussein, held a series of meetings with heads of state and delegations participating in the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly.

King Abdullah met with Lebanese President Michel Aoun and went over means to enhance cooperation and coordination between the two countries in all fields, especially at the economic and military levels, the Royal Court said.

They also addressed the latest developments in the Lebanese arena, where His Majesty congratulated Aoun on defeating Daesh terrorists and forcing them out of Lebanon.

The King also met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas over the latest developments in the Palestinian arena.

Both leaders highlighted the importance of sustaining coordination and consultation related to the endeavours to relaunch the peace process according to the two-state solution, in a way that leads to the establishment of a Palestinian state on the Palestinian national soil with East Jerusalem as its capital.

They highlighted the important role of the US administration and President Donald Trump’s commitment to ending the stalemate in the peace process.

His Majesty also held separate meetings with Kosovo President Hashim Thaci, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev and Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, which focused on boosting cooperation with their respective countries, especially in the economic field.

Talks during the gatherings went over the latest regional and international developments and the efforts exerted in the war against terrorism.

During the meeting with Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the King and the Japanese leader expressed their countries’ keenness to develop cooperation at all levels, and to continue coordination on various regional and international issues.

His Majesty and Abe went over endeavours aimed at resuming serious and effective negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis, and the Japanese initiative dubbed “Corridor for Peace and Prosperity” targeting the Mideast conflict zone.

Abe expressed his country’s concern over North Korea’s continuous nuclear tests, and the King stressed that what Pyongyang does is considered a threat to the Japanese security.

Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, King’s Office Director Jafar Hassan and Sima Bahous, Jordan’s permanent representative to the UN, attended the meetings.

Later in the day, King Abdullah met with Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi over economic and military cooperation between the two countries, including the need to coordinate their anti-terror efforts. 

At another meeting, the Monarch discussed with Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni means to bolster economic cooperation between the two countries and the repercussions of the Syrian crisis on Jordan, along with the anti-terrorism drive. 

Meanwhile, King Abdullah attended a lunch banquet hosted by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in honour of heads of state and delegations participating in the session.

AMMAN — A Royal Jordanian Air Force plane on Tuesday landed at Queen Alia International Airport carrying 71 Jordanians, who were on San Martin Island, which was hit by hurricane Irma.    

The plane was sent on Monday under directives from His Majesty King Abdullah to airlift the Jordanian nationals back home.

Foreign Ministry Secretary General Zeid Lawzi and a number of senior officials were at the airport to receive the airborne survivors, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

In remarks quoted by Petra, Lawzi said that His Majesty ordered sending the plane once he heard about Jordanians stranded on the island.

Bashir Rawashdeh, director of the ministry's operation centre, said that a committee had been formed to follow up on the nationals’ situation and means to fly them to safety.

The centre contacted the island's airport, which confirmed its safety for landing and then coordinated with Royal Jordanian Airlines and the Jordan Royal Airforce to carry out the mission, according to Rawashdeh.

He stressed that the number of evacuated Jordanians was 71 out of 96, with the remaining 25 choosing to stay on the island for business purposes.

For their part, families of the evacuated Jordanians expressed appreciation for His Majesty King Abdullah’s initiative.

Majid Obeid, whose 14 family members were among the evacuated Jordanians, said that he was anxious about his relatives, expressing delight over hearing the news about sending the plane.

The hurricane has destroyed 95 per cent of the French part of the island, according to Petra.

AMMAN — Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi on Monday stressed the importance of reaching a political solution to the Syrian crisis that is accepted by the Syrian people, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

During his participation in a ministerial meeting on Syria at the UN headquarters, Safadi called for supporting a ceasefire in all of Syria, noting that the Syrian people are the foremost affected party by the continuous fighting.

The minister also took part in the meeting of the UN's Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) that coordinates assistance for the Palestinian people.

He urged a resumption of the peace talks between the Palestinians and Israelis to solve the conflict in a way that leads to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state that lives peacefully alongside Israel.

Also on Monday, Safadi met with Deputy Prime Minister of Georgia Mikheil Janelidze and discussed bilateral relations between Jordan and Georgia.

They also discussed latest regional and international developments.    

AMMAN — The Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army (JAF) on Tuesday signed a 5,280,000-euro agreement with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to strengthen security and provide humanitarian assistance for refugees on the northeastern borders with Syria.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Lt. Gen. Mahmoud Freihat said that the partnership with the EU and the UN through IOM is essential to enable JAF to continue assisting Syrian refugees across the borders, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Freihat stressed Jordan's efforts to enhance cooperation with the EU and UN organisations in order to reduce pressure on infrastructure and human resources on the Jordanian-Syrian border.

IOM's Chief of Mission Enrico Ponziani emphasised the need to maintain balance between humanitarian aid and security, praising Jordan's commitment to international humanitarian principles.

EU Ambassador in Amman Andrea Matteo Fontana stressed the bloc's commitment to supporting JAF to provide humanitarian assistance to Syrian refugees on the border, as well as to carry out its basic duties of protecting the Kingdom's frontiers.

According to a joint press release, carried by Petra, the agreement will provide technical support to the Jordanian authorities to build border posts capable of responding quickly to the humanitarian and security challenges on the northeastern borders.

The agreement will also help in organising capacity-building exercises and dialogue sessions to discuss immediate and long-term challenges.

AMMAN — Indonesian Ambassador to Jordan Andy Rachmianto on Monday called on the Kingdom's business community to “fully utilise the prospective Indonesian market” and to “take advantage of Indonesia’s high quality products”, stressing that “the bilateral trade value in 2016 did not reflect the true potential between Jordan and Indonesia”.

The remarks came during a business dinner organised by the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Amman, where more than 125 prominent Jordanian business figures were present. 

The event was also attended by Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply Yarub Qudah, who delivered a keynote speech on the ways to enhance bilateral ties and cooperation between the two countries. 

During his speech, the ambassador noted that the bilateral trade value declined almost by half in 2016, standing at $256 million. 

Rachmianto attributed this drop to the current regional situation, and to the closure of the borders with Iraq and Syria.

“However, we just heard good news earlier this month, as the border of Jordan-Iraq was reopened,” he said, expressing that “this not only indicated the success of combating the terrorism of Daesh, but more importantly, the huge opportunities for the resumption of trade and access to Iraq, including many Indonesian products that penetrated the Jordanian market and can now be re-exported.”

Furthermore, the ambassador provided the Jordanian business community with an overview of the latest developments of Indonesia in economy, trade, tourism and investment. 

Rachmianto noted that Indonesia has improved its investment climate by providing more attractive incentives and facilities for investors, noting that in 2015, a one-stop-service centre was implemented by the Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board with the aim to “provide a faster, simpler and more transparent investment licensing service”.

Furthermore, the ambassador highlighted that 15 economic packages were introduced by Jokowi’s (President Joko Widodo) government, “aimed at easing the process of doing business in Indonesia.”

In terms of tourism, Rachmianto noted that Indonesia is now introducing the “10 new Bali” destinations, which are expected to “attract 20 million inbound tourists by 2019.”

He remarked that 169 countries — including Jordan and Palestine — were given visa free travel to Indonesia in 2016, adding that “conversely, 50,000 Indonesian tourists came to Jordan as part of the umrah [the lesser Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca] package.”

Regarding the general economic situation, the ambassador noted the “positive economic growth” in Indonesia, which has reached 5.1 per cent this year, highlighting that the country is the “largest and strongest economy in Southeast Asia, with a GDP per capita of $3,493 in 2016.

To conclude, the ambassador invited the Jordanian business community to attend major economic events in Indonesia in the third-half of the year, including the Indonesia-Middle East Annual Gathering on Economy (IMAGE) on October 8-10, the Trade Expo Indonesia (TEI) from October 11-15, and the Regional Investment Forum (RIF) on October15-17.

JERASH – Andrea Bocelli, the world’s “most beloved tenor”, added to the ecstatic audience’s euphoria when he, responding to the cheers of thousands who attended his Jerash concert Monday night, returned to the stage more than once after bowing out to sing more.

Performing against the backdrop of Zeus Temple, the 59-year-old Italian singer was accompanied by 160 artists, including Jordanian soprano Dima Bawab and members of the Jordan National Conservatory Orchestra, who were in complete harmony with the other musicians, singers and choir members coming from diverse countries, including Georgia, Lebanon, and Italy, among others. 

Fountain of Love, a purely Jordanian group of 61 members, played a key role in the concert. According to its website, the choir was founded during Christmas time in 2002 to perform Christmas carols. The first performance, which involved several people from the Youth Group took place at the Greek Catholic Church in Zarqa. Later on, the Choir expanded to include additional male and female members.

The concert was split into two parts, by a 20-minutre interval. During the first, Bocelli performed classical songs like La donna è mobile, from Verdi’s Rigoletto.

Part two saw more of famous pop songs, especially in English, such as “Maria”, “Be My Love”, and “Fools Rush In”. 

Bawab first sang solo before joining Bocelli in a duet and other singers in a group joined in towards the end of the event, which was described as a “once-in-a-lifetime experience” by Issam Salfiti, the chairperson of the Friends of Jordan Festivals, the organiser.

Bawab received a standing ovation for her performance, which matched that of the other professional artists accompanying Bocelli as he kicked off a world tour from the ancient Greco-Roman city.

Fans who attended the concert, including Jordanians and expats, took to social media to express their impression of the event, praising the organisers as well as the performance of each member of the ensemble. 

“A captivating night where history meets culture. Andrea Bocelli took us to a whole new world. #BocelliJO” wrote Abd Alrahman Alnsour.

An engineering student, Omar Masroujeh wrote on Twitter that it was a “legendary night in Jerash: the originality of the place met the magnificence of performance”.

Geroge Mountis posted: “#bocelliJo. A truly unique experience”.

The concert has been promoted as a major summertime event to attract tourists to the Kingdom, due to the world popularity of the artist, who has sold more than 80 million copies of his recorded works. 

Tourism Minister Lina Annab has noted that the tourism scene in Jordan has shown signs of recovery lately, with growing numbers of tourists. She attributed the increase to several factors including the active role played by the private sector.

She cited Friends of Jordan Festivals, the society organising today’s event, as one of the main contributors to tourism promotion through its activities.

AMMAN — Decentralisation is an advanced reform project to integrate citizens in prioritising economic, service and social projects and follow up on their implementation within scheduled times in the Budget, Prime Minister Hani Mulki said on Tuesday. 

In a dialogue meeting with heads of governorate councils, Mulki said that decentralisation aims at identifying  citizens’ needs, priorities and aspirations at their own areas, be them political, economic or social, and transferring such requests from governorates to the capital, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The premier congratulated heads, deputy heads and their assistants for gaining the confidence of citizens in the first elections of governorate councils in the history of Jordan.

He also stressed that decentralisation enhances development in a smooth way according to citizens’ needs and priorities, referring to His Majesty King Abdullah’s keenness for applying decentralisation as part of the political, economic and social reforms.

The prime minister highlighted the importance of identifying development priorities that most people agree on in the budget and to have follow ups on project implementation, stressing the need to spend all financial allocations in the same year.

The Finance Ministry identified allocations for governorates in the 2018 and 2019 budgets, where the Cabinet endorsed 30 per cent equally for all governorates and the other 70 per cent was distributed according to each governorate’s area, population, number of economic facilities and poverty and employment rates, Mulki added.

There will be schemes that will be implemented in more than one governorate, the premier said, adding that such schemes will be listed in the state capital expenditure and will be the responsibility of the government after listening to recommendations from governorate councils. 

He noted that governorate councils will be responsible for projects in their respective governorates, such as roads, hospitals, schools, sewage, water and electricity.

The prime minister said that the main job of governorate councils in 2018 will be identifying priorities that their governorates did not receive funds for in previous budgets, in addition to starting a programme to follow up on projects, and to consider schemes for 2019.

Mulki expressed his confidence that governorate councils will be able to face development challenges and meet citizens’ aspirations, stressing the government’s support to these councils.

Heads of governorate councils, their deputies and assistants expressed their readiness to work in partnership with executive councils in governorate, so as to start implementing schemes that aim to improve services and achieve development in governorates, according to Petra.

AMMAN — In a country where 81 per cent of women are unemployed, according to UNHCR figures, it is highly unconventional to see women participate in a male-dominated profession like plumbing. 

This is, nonetheless, the path that some 176 women have chosen through the German Development Cooperation (GIZ)’s first phase of the project “Training for water and energy efficiency”.

Some 215 additional women are scheduled to follow their lead in the recently launched project’s second phase titled “Vocational Training and Skills Enhancement For Jordanians and Syrian Refugees in the Water Sector [VTW]” that trains local men and women to professional plumbing techniques.

On the occasion of the German Week 2017, the Vocational Training Institute of Mafraq has opened its doors to the public to present the achievements of its project’s beneficiaries through hands-on demonstration sessions by the centre’s students and teachers. 

GIZ launched its project in 2014, with the aim of training Jordanian and Syrian refugee women to become professional plumbers with a two-headed approach.

“First of all, we wanted to contribute to solving the water issue nationwide through a grassroots approach,” Hind Al Shdaifat, component manager at GIZ told The Jordan Times on Tuesday.

According to the GIZ website, “virtually all directly available water resources have been tapped in Jordan, but they are often only used to a limited degree or very inefficiently. Estimates indicate that up to 40 per cent of the water transported by pipe is lost nationwide because pipelines are dilapidated and have sometimes been installed unprofessionally and are improperly maintained”.

“Pipelines are old, and there is also a lack of skilled professionals who can install, service and repair them. Water connections and pipeline infrastructure that have been improperly installed and repaired and the shortage of qualified male and female plumbers are also leading to water losses in residential buildings,” the website added.

Partnering with the Vocational Training Corporation (VTC) and vocational training institutes in the Amman and Irbid Governorates, VTW provides two-month courses, including a two-week field training, teaching women how to cut iron pipes, connect them, fix leakages behind a wall, and all the other necessary skills to become a professional plumber.

While prejudices prevail at the onset of each training, the participants quickly forget about them, diving head first into the world of plumbing. “When they go on the field for the first time, the women are worried as they tend to be received with criticism or even mockery,” Al Shdaifat explained. 

“But, each time, as soon as they finish, people are so impressed with the quality of their work that they totally change their mind,” she added, noting that some clients now specifically ask for female plumbers

In the face of stereotypes and reluctant attitudes of society, the women have replied with even more perseverance. 

“When a man plumber is called to fix a leakage, he tends to leave a mess after him, from what I have been told. But, with women, the work is done professionally and tidily,” the component manager noted.

Moreover, the training also provides these women with prospects for the future and a means of supporting their families. “Most of these women got involved because they wanted to be able to fix the plumbing inside their house without having to call a professional,” Shdaifat continued.

One of the project beneficiaries, Fatima Ahmad Mubarak said she has gained a greater sense of self-respect and confidence since she graduated from this programme. “I intend to work for myself, I want to be independent of a man’s income,” Mubarak was quoted in a GIZ statement as saying. 

The participants expressed their hope that this initiative will help pave the way for more women getting involved in male-dominated sectors, slowly changing the patriarchal mentality prevailing in the labour market.

In parallel, GIZ has partnered with the Ministry of Water and Irrigation to implement media campaigns and raise public awareness on the need to preserve water resources and to motivate people to take action at their level.

“Jordan is one of the world’s most arid countries in terms of the amount of water available per capita and we need everyone to get involved to prevent this situation from getting worse every year,” said.