Clients complain about slow pace of services in Jabal Amman office

AMMAN – Dozens of people of all ages were seen queuing up outside a Foreign Ministry-affiliated office for attesting certificates near the First Circle in Jabal Amman on Thursday, where their transactions were being handled by only one employee. 

The majority were young people seeking to have their education documents verified as per requirements of job offers they received in Gulf countries. 

Ibrahim Abu Khdeir, who was standing outside on the steps of the office, said he had been waiting for more than an hour and “the queue has been at a standstill.” 

The University of Jordan graduate noted he had an offer to work as an accountant in Saudi Arabia. 

Jordanians who receive job offers in the Gulf must have their certificates attested to by several government agencies before they apply to embassies for work visas. 

Salem Abbadi said he was annoyed by the slow pace of services provided by the office. 

“It is unacceptable to leave people waiting outside in the sun, because employees are not doing their job properly,” the disgruntled Abbadi told The Jordan Times. 

Inside the premises, only one counter was functioning with the sole employee standing behind the window to stamp the ministry’s inked-seal on the clients’ documents. 

But minutes later, an argument erupted between the civil servant and a young graduate who was complaining about or being stuck there for hours, prompting the former to leave his counter and approach the latter. 

 “If you don’t like it, leave the building,” the employee told the young man, who identified himself as Mohammad Batayneh. 

Those present separated the two men, but Batayneh threatened to lodge a complaint against the employee.

When asked why there was only one person serving so many people, a senior employee at the government department, who refused to give his name, said one of their colleagues was on a prayer break, and hence the long queue. 

“And does it take this long to pray?” shouted an old man who was at the scene. 

Responding to a question on whether praying is more important than serving people since work is considered an act of worship in Islam, the official retorted: “You just don’t want people to pray.”

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ashraf Khasawneh told The Jordan Times over the phone that the ministry is aware of the lack of proper facilities and small number of staff at the First Circle office. 

Khasawneh said the ministry is currently negotiating with a landlord to rent larger offices near the 7th Circle that would include waiting rooms and parking spaces.  

The spokesperson urged people to report their complaints to the ministry, adding that it will not tolerate any bad treatment of clients or delay in their transactions. 

“It is only a matter of time before procedures to rent the building are finalised. The quality of services will be much better, for sure, and much faster,” Khasawneh noted.