Public sector working to cope with arising economic challenges — Fakhoury

AMMAN — Despite the reform efforts over the years, and the success achieved in some individual aspects of the process, Jordan's public sector is still facing great challenges to adapt to economic requirements, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury said Tuesday.

At the inauguration ceremony of the Regional Conference for European Neighbourhood Countries at the Dead Sea to introduce the Principles of Public Administration, Fakhoury said the government’s size is still disproportionate to the national economy and needs to be resized.

Moreover, the level of service delivery should cope with the ever increasing demand, especially with the Syrian refugee crisis, which requires a long-term and a more comprehensive framework to reform, he added, according to a ministry statement.

The Principles of Public Administration project was developed through the Support for Improvement in Governance and Management (SIGMA), a joint initiative of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the EU, whose key objective is to strengthen the foundations for improved public governance, and support socioeconomic development, according to the minsitry.

Fakhoury also said that the principles that SIGMA launched on Tuesday can function as a guide for good public administration practices to which "all our countries can aspire".

"We are keen to learn more about the principles, and we look [forward] to jointly working together to experiment and implement the model [in Jordan]," the minister said, expressing hope that the findings and recommendations will help the government design and implement deeper reforms and as per targets of the Jordan 2025.

The government exerted "numerous efforts" to build its public institutions in line with best international practices that have over the past decades contributed to serving citizens’ interests and protecting and securing their rights, he noted.

The minister added that public institutions and the government's policies and programmes have played a central role in the evolution and development of modern Jordan; however, the Kingdom has been subject to many external shocks, including the recent influx of about 1.3 million Syrians.

Public sector reform started in Jordan in the early 1980s, Fakhoury noted, adding that the government has since then undertaken and implemented "critical" reform initiatives with the support of different partners to enhance the capacities of public institutions and streamline efforts and procedures to improve service delivery to citizens.