Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour’s recent meeting with the editors-in-chief of major newspapers in the country demonstrates his determination to keep the mass media abreast of his policies.
His nearly two-hour encounter with these media practitioners was extremely candid and informative. He covered local and regional issues in a manner that showed a good grasp of local and regional issues and, particularly, his “excellent” relations with Parliament.
He also praised the Lower House for its hard work and dedication to the interests of the country and indicated that the Elections Law will be worked on some more to update it, and that the law on the formation of political parties will receive a thorough revision.
On the economy and fiscal front, the prime minister confirmed that unemployment dropped in the country to about 11 per cent and is due to drop even more in the months ahead.
Ensour went to great length to explain the various options to solve the energy crisis and the fact that the country aims to diversity its sources of energy, including reliance on nuclear, solar and wind power.
He also defended his decision to grant children of Jordanian mothers married to foreigners full civil rights, assuring the participants that this step will not lead to granting them full citizenship rights.
His reasoning is that a child that is denied education would be easy prey to recruiters of dubious undertakings, some even drawn to crime.
Moreover, a non-productive member of society is a burden instead of a contributor that can help better the country.
A positive projection was made about the inflation rate, which reached 5.6 per cent in 2013, saying that it will drop to about 3 per cent this year.
All in all the PM expressed optimism about the future, and that is the silver lining Jordanians need.
