PM says gov’t to implement all plans agreed with Mubadara

AMMAN — Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour on Tuesday stressed that the government is committed to implementing the plans and policies agreed upon with the House-based Mubadara (initiative).

His remarks came during a meeting at Parliament with members of Mubadara, attended by a ministerial team, where the premier pledged to proceed with the action plan designed jointly by the two sides.

Despite the challenges it has faced in the past months, Mubadara managed to make this breakthrough. This is “unprecedented” and completely changes the rules of the game in Parliament and the relations with the government, said MP Mustafa Hamarneh, founder and overall coordinator of Mubadara.

Launched last year, Mubadara includes some 30 MPs who came together to partner with the government after agreeing on certain short- and long-term policies to address various challenges facing the country.

The partnership sets commitments and obligations for both sides. The government will have to implement the agreed-upon policies while the Mubadara team will have to support such policies and even lobby for them at Parliament.

During the Tuesday’s meeting, Ensour said each ministry will handle the implementation of its part in the plan in coordination with Mubadara, calling for holding periodical meetings with Mubadara members to speed up the work and to reflect that this is a “collective” effort.

“This is the first time in the country’s history that such partnership is recognised by both the Parliament and the government,” Hamarneh said.

“We want this to be successful,” former Lower House speaker and president of Mubadara Saad Hayel Srour said at the meeting.

“We have agreed on certain policies with the government and we need to see achievements in the short run,” Srour noted.

“The group has faced significant challenges during its work, but it has delivered and today we can see that working collectively in a positive spirit will yield results,” Hamarneh said.

The Mubadara team will remain strong and solid, Hamarneh said, noting that while other blocs in Parliament have collapsed, Mubadara is still standing.

“We will continue to monitor the government performance in relations to the agreed upon policy papers,” he said, stressing that “the group never lost insight of its objective”.

There are certain powers that have been working against our efforts by trying to block it, a Mubadara member who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Jordan Times.

According to Hamarneh the next step for Mubadara is to reinforce its role within Parliament. He did not give further details, but said: “We will work on establishing a large House coalition.”

Mubadara has already decided to register as a bloc in the Lower House by the beginning of the next ordinary session slated for October.