Gov’t has plan, funds in place to pay contractors, vendors

AMMAN —The government is committed to paying its dues to contractors and suppliers and will not accumulate more liabilities this year to ensure an uninterrupted flow of supplies that are necessary for economic growth, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Sunday.

In addition to paying off all invoices cumulating in the past years, the government works on securing funds to pay back the public debt and lower its ratio to the GDP, according to officials from the Finance Ministry, as quoted by Petra.

The total value of over dues for health, oil, water and electricity reached JD620million in 2016, and a plan was drawn up to pay them in 2017 and 2018.

Some JD360million has been allocated as part of the general budget and the rest will be settled in 2018, according to Petra.

The Finance Ministry paid back JD27 million during the first quarter of this year, the officials said.

The ministry stressed that the measure corresponds to the goals of the financial reform programme, by paying the over dues back to service and goods providers to stimulate the national economy and, subsequently, economic growth, indirectly.

The Cabinet decided last week to allocate JD50million to settle debts to the private sectors such as private hospitals, pharmaceuticals and drug stores.  

The government also allocated JD24million from the Development and Employment Fund to support the programme of improving education, vocational training and other necessary procedures, Petra said.