King to inaugurate Parliament ordinary session today

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday is scheduled to open the Parliament's second ordinary session, where he will deliver the Speech from the Throne.

The Senate will later convene a meeting chaired by President Faisal Fayez to read the Royal Decrees that include one proroguing the Parliament's extraordinary session, a second adjourning its ordinary session until November 12, 2017, and a third summoning it to meet in an ordinary session as of Sunday, November 12.

The Upper House will then elect members of the committee to reply to the Speech from the Throne.

After the Senate meeting, the Lower House will hold its first meeting to elect the panel that will reply to the Speech from the Throne and the two deputy speakers and the speaker's assistants.

The Lower House will also elect members of its 20 permanent committees.

Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh on Friday said that His Majesty's Speech from the Throne will include directives to all state institutions and is considered an action programme for the next stage.

In an interview with Jordan TV’s 60 Minutes, Tarawneh expressed his satisfaction over the performance of the Lower House, noting that the Chamber has faced many challenges and yet managed to endorse many laws, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

He stressed that the House is fully aware of its responsibilities and the magnitude of economic challenges facing the Kingdom, especially that it does not receive enough aid that enables it to implement economic programmes.

The speaker highlighted the importance of addressing economic woes, expressing hope that the government will soon “announce war” on tax and customs evasions and administrative inefficiency.

In this regard, he said that the tax evasion provisions in the new law — in the making — needs oversight from the government and the Lower House, where the former has to stiffen penalties on tax evasion.

Tarawneh said that the national economy needs some revisions, especially when it comes to subsidy that has to be directed to beneficiaries from the lower- and middle-income segments through finding suitable mechanisms.