Jordan’s economy moving in right direction, albeit ‘very slowly’ — Ghunaimat

AMMAN — The Minister of State for Media Affairs Jumana Ghunaimat on Thursday addressed the media on an Israeli airport opened near the border, as well as the progress of economic reforms amid criticism of tax cuts on commodities.

“We are going in the right direction, although at a slow pace and on a rough road,” Ghunaimat said at a press conference held at the Prime Ministry.

The minister pointed to a “limited but promising decrease in the ratio of public debt” to GDP.

This ratio fell from 94.3 per cent by the end of 2017 to 94 per cent by the end of 2018, according to official figures. “Although it is a small figure, it is an indication that we are on the right track,” the minister told reporters.

She also pledged that the government’s efforts to reduce debt would never translate into “raising taxes or imposing new ones”.

Ghunaimat pointed to Prime Minister Omar Razzaz’s recent international tours to highlight the Kingdom’s efforts to boost the economy and encourage investments.

She said that the government was attempting to “knock on all doors” after the Kingdom had suffered an “unannounced embargo” over the past couple of years, referring to the regional situation, which hurt the economy.

She added that several measures have also recently been taken internally to reduce burdens on Jordanians, including a recent decision to slash the sales tax on some commodities. 

In January, the Cabinet decided to lower the 10-16 per cent general sales tax on 61 commodities to 4 per cent, in a move the government said was meant to ease the economic hardship on citizens and help balance the tax burden.

The list included foodstuffs such as canned meat, fish, cheese, pasta, vegetables, fruit, table salt and tomato paste, in addition to pencils and others.

However, the list also included items such as snakes, turtles and duck luncheon, which resulted in mockery on social media platforms.

Ghunaimat said the objections and jokes made about the list of commodities went so far that they “diverted the attention away from the real value of the decision”.

“The government’s step was noble and our aim was to eliminate the burden of taxes on essential commodities and to ensure that the breakfasts of Jordanians were tax-free,” Ghunaimat said.

Ghunaimat also addressed the government’s recent protest of an Israeli airport the country opened near the Jordanian-Israeli border and said the Kingdom was still waiting for an Israeli response.

“Since 2015, the government has voiced its objection to the Israeli airport and called on Israel to abide by the international laws that govern airports worldwide,” Ghunaimat stressed.

She added that Israel should “abide by the peace and security” of flights in the area.

Earlier this week, the Kingdom filed a complaint with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) against Israel’s opening of the airport just across the border.

In a statement, the Civil Aviation Regulatory Commission’s (CARC) Chief Commissioner Captain Haitham Misto, said that Jordan’s objection was based on “the fact that the airport violates international standards related to respecting other countries’ airspace and territorial sovereignty”.

The commission requested that the ICAO take measures to ensure that Israel complies with international aviation rules in a way that guarantees that the operation of the airport would not compromise Jordan’s interests.

Misto said Israel must abide by the 1944 Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, which was signed by 192 countries, including Jordan and Israel.

The CARC has also contacted its Israeli peers and requested the airport’s operations be delayed until all issues are resolved under the umbrella of the ICAO, the chief commissioner noted.

Israel inaugurated its new international airport on Monday, which is meant to boost tourism to the nearby Red Sea and serve as an emergency alternative to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, according to Israeli media.

Ramon, where the airport is located, is about 18km from the Israeli Red Sea resort town of Eilat and the adjacent Jordanian Port of Aqaba.

It will currently handle only domestic flights, but in the future, the airport plans to receive international flights, according to reports.