Time for candid discourse between government, people

The latest data released by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) about the health of the national economy remain worrying, despite all the assurances by the government that it is now on top of things and that the economy is on the threshold of making progress on several fronts.

For starters, both sources said that public debt stood at JD28 billion and that national debt had reached JD63.8 billion at the end of 2018. This is not exactly a clean bill of health for the national economy, and requires, therefore, a response and explanation by the government.

Where have all the words of assurance about the health of the economy gone, may we ask? True, there is a limit as to what the government can do to undo all the damages to the economy that accumulated throughout the past years, but a little bit more candour on where we really stand would be most welcome.

The country would like to know where all the declared support to the country from whatever source, Arab or otherwise, has gone and whether, in fact, the pledges made to the country in order to maintain its steadfastness against instability in the region have been implemented.

Jordan and its people can no longer shoulder the responsibility for regional peace and stability without the international community making good on its offer to help the country in these trying times. Meanwhile, the people of Jordan continue to experience hardships, including high taxes, runaway inflation and rampant unemployment. This is a time for candid discourse between the government and the people as to where the county is heading.

High public debt takes a heavy toll on the ability of the country and its people to withstand their respective forms of pressures. The people can be expected to truly understand the hardships facing the government once they are told about the source and nature of these problems.

Candour is, therefore, the name of the game. The more the government is candid with the public, the more sympathetic and supportive they could be.