AMMAN — An Awqaf Ministry investigation panel has concluded that allegations on the ministry’s Zarqa office receiving funding from USAID are unfounded, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Tuesday.
News websites had published a statement quoting Zarqa Awqaf Director Yousef Shibli as saying that his directorate received funding from USAID to improve religious discourse, Petra reported.
Shibli denied releasing any statement and clarified that a memorandum of understanding had been signed with USAID, but only to renovate the Zarqa Awqaf Directorate’s building.
The US embassy also issued a statement on Tuesday dismissing the reports as baseless. “USAID Jordan does not fund, nor have we ever funded, the Awqaf centre currently being constructed in Zarqa as has been incorrectly reported by several news outlets over the course of the last week,” the embassy statement said.