Arabic Press

Ad-Dustour’s Awni Daoud said that what happened with the COVID-19-positive truck driver in Khanaseri area in Mafraq is certainly frustrating and even shocking, especially after eight days of zero cases got Jordanian’s hopes up regarding defeating the virus by the end of Ramadan.

Daoud said that this hope is now too close to be lost due to one incident here or there, and that Jordan’s achievements in combating COVID-19 still earn bragging rights for the Kingdom’s leadership, army, security services and medical personnel.

The writer said that “what happened happens!” and might happen again, highlighting that Jordan has become distinguished for its swift containment of the crisis, correcting and learning from mistakes and quick reconsideration of decisions.

He said that “the truck drivers problem” must end completely, and that the government’s decision to establish a quarantine site for them at the border is a fit solution, after written self-quarantine pledges have been proved inadequate and brought more cases upon the Kingdom.

The columnist said that Jordan must learn two things from the incident, the first of which is not to practice self-flagellation, or become discouraged and look down on the Kingdom’s accomplishments in this regard, as mistakes will continue to be made globally until a final solution is reached. The second is for the government to impose tighter measures, as some people are not aware of their own best interest or that of others, Daoud said. The columnist stressed that defence orders must be fully enforced, especially Defence Order No.11, to deter those who endanger public health. 

AlRai’s Ahmad Hasban said that for two years in a row, Jordan has seen plentiful rainfall, amid expectations of a good agricultural season that could be even better than last year’s.

Hasban said that this necessitates that the government pay more attention to the agricultural sector and support it, regarding fire hazards in particular.

He said that the government must learn from last year, as the Kingdom saw abundant rains that lead to unprecedented growth of weeds, which ultimately lead to disabling farmers from ploughing their lands. He said that these weeds provided an environment inviting of fires, as 2019 saw 33 fires that set ablaze hundreds of dunums of trees, wheat and barley, and left complete or partial destruction behind them.

The writer said that in 2020, the situation is more difficult, as in addition to heavy rainfall, came the COVID-19 crisis and further disabled farmers from ploughing their lands due to the imposed curfew and other measures.

Hasban said that when movement permits were issued, they focused on farmers in lands of large areas, and neglected smaller land plots in which weeds spread significantly more than 2019, even though they host important economic tributaries like olive trees.

The columnist said that the demand in this regard is for the government to include fire protection within its coronavirus crisis economic impact programmes and provide assistance to farmers to remove dry weeds from their lands.

Hasban said that it is not difficult for concerned authorities to take the necessary measures to protect resources that Jordan needs now more than ever. 

Ad-Dustour’s Oraib Rintawi said that US President Donald Trump keeps pouring accusations on China of causing the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting that Trump called it “the Chinese virus” despite the racism it evokes and the criticism it received in and out of the US.

Rintawi said that Trump’s accusations of China include claiming that COVID-19 was “manufactured” in a Wuhan lab, or that it was leaked due to a human error, in addition to accusing Beijing of silence and denial when it should have disclosed the information it allegedly had about the virus.

The columnist said that the US president has two “interests” behind intensifying his campaign against China, regardless of the mistakes and sins that the country may have committed.

He said that the first “interest” is an electoral one, as Trump is in critical need for a scapegoat to blame for his administration’s “laughable” failure at managing the pandemic, as the US presidential elections are less than six months away.

The writer said that Trump’s second “interest” is distinguishably economic, as the US president realises that the “post-coronavirus” world will see a Chinese progress ahead of the US in the “economic match” between the two giants.

Rintawi said that the course to achieve this “economic interest” has been established years before COVID-19 through the US “isolating China” and “imposing sanctions on it”, while also urging the rest of the world to do so, starting with Europe.

Rintawi said that criticising China’s political system, totalitarianism and lack of transparency is one thing, but throwing unfounded accusations at the country to demonise it is another.

Al Ghad’s Mahmoud Khatatbeh said that it is a good step by the government to reopen all economic sectors as of Wednesday, yet the government has to have a roadmap to counter the possibility of losing some 140,000 jobs in various sectors in the Kingdom within the next four months.

The International Labour Organisation expected the world to lose some 10.5 per cent of organised jobs, which means that the Jordanian economy, just as every other economy in the world, will face a new challenge that everybody hopes not to have big impact, said the writer.

The government, which succeeded in containing the COVID-19 pandemic, is now required to be fully prepared to deal with the status of the national economy and the living conditions of citizens, added the columnist. Nobody can deny that the coming is bad, especially that civil society organisations speak about 140,000 who will lose their jobs in the Kingdom, and if each one of those is head of a five-member family, there will be a total of 700,000 people who will join poverty in Jordan.

As for the unorganised jobs, there are some 1.25 million employees in these jobs, including 900,000 whose salaries will be negatively affected, said the columnist. All these factors require the government to enhance the social security network and direct it to low-income and most vulnerable people, said the writer, adding that the government is also asked to expand the health insurance umbrella, especially that the monthly and daily incomes of a lot of citizens will not be sufficient for their basic needs.

Al Rai’s Issam Qadamani said that for the prophecy of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mission Chief to Jordan Chris Jarvis for the Jordanian economy to restore its growth faster than other countries, there has to be proper financing instruments. 

The answer to this riddle, in light of pessimistic expectations for the economy to enter a recession for more than one year, was made by Jarvis himself who stressed the need to continue presenting financial support to the economy through the banking system, said the writer. 

The IMF chief also suggested granting the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) the flexibility necessary to take important procedures related to lowering interest rates, increasing liquidity and guaranteeing local companies’ access to financial support they need through the banking system, added the columnist. 

The safety and resilience of the banking sector under this crisis were decisive, especially that the sector is tasked with supporting the growth enhancers, said the writer, adding that it is a positive indicator for Jordan to have maintained the exchange rate of the dinar, which constitutes a confidence factor for investors and expatriates. 

The banking sector today is in its best levels, and if there are any hardships that should be taken into consideration, they are related to financial aspects pertaining to the budget deficit that will increase and affect the financial stability, said the columnist. 

The most important message by the government is its commitment to domestic and foreign debts, where the CBJ, since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, announced that it has sufficient reserves of foreign currencies to pay for imports for periods that equal or even exceed the international standards, said Qadamani.  

Addustour’s Lama Absah said that many countries have begun to gradually lifting its coronavirus restrictions after a fall in the infection rate.

The Kingdom, despite the positive results, insists on easing restrictions at the minimal level, along with maintaining the comprehensive curfew, she said.

Highlighting the strict measures, Absah added we still hear the phrase “for your safety, stay at home” accompanied with warns on the probability of imposing fines against violators.

No one doubts the efficacy of the Kingdom’s measures, but the restrictions on public life have become an economic and psychological burden, she argued, urging an end to the restrictions.

She said that when the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned against a possible second and third wave of COVID-19, the organisation focused on restructuring the ill-prepared health systems and resuming the economic cycle to prepare for the next stages.

The officials in the Kingdom stuck to the first part and maintained the coronavirus-related measures, she said, wondering about who will compensate the financial losses incurred by the state and individuals.

Post-coronavirus conditions are more dangerous, she said, calling for leaving aside all fears about the future.

What we need is preparing the health system to battle the pandemic, she said, stressing that the WHO also warned against the economic repercussions.

It can be hard to shift to optimistic thinking, she said, wondering how can for a county shackled in unequal treaties and debts, among other challenges, to overcome coronavirus economic repercussions.    

Al Ghad’s Mahmoud Khatatbah said that newspapers have been spreading vital political, economic, social, humanitarian and cultural messages around the clock, with the long-lasting winner has always been the successive governments.

Workers in newspapers are experiencing hard times, unless the government has another opinion and journalists take a bold and strong position. It seems that the government has abandoned the newspapers that have always defended official policies, decisions and procedures, in a way or another.

When there was opposition or criticism to a specific decision or action, it had been made for a noble goal to shield the country and citizen from harm, the columnist said.

It seems that there is an indifference from the government towards print media, he said, highlighting that the government’s recent decision to allow for the newspapers to issue papers only five days a week, entails that the newspapers have no longer been daily newspapers, which deprives a publication of government advertisements.

Newspapers’ boards, editors and workers have mistakenly accepted that, he said, or they were not aware of the negative impact of this decision that affects finances.

No one accepts the government’s intervention in the policies of editing any newspaper, the writer said, but there is nothing to prevent the government from allocating a sum of money to underpinning the print media.

Each newspaper employs about 350 people, including journalists, administrators, technicians, along with distribution and maintenance workers, which means that more than 5,000 people will have no shelter, assuming that each person is responsible for a five-member family. The question remains: Who will benefit from that? He concluded.

Ad-Dustour’s Lama Absah said that the government’s efforts during pre-coronavirus stage is one thing, but the decisions made to support the economy during the pandemic is another thing, while both do not meet the requirements of the recovery of the economy, which suffers chronic and new imbalances.

The most manifest imbalances, during before the emergence of coronavirus, have been the high rates of unemployment and poverty, along with the increase in public debt.

In spite of all positive international reports accompanied by overly reassuring statements that contradicts the Kingdom’s fiscal and economic situation, we need thorough studying of the real condition, to determine the necessary decisions and policies to be adopted during the current period and the medium term.

The writer said that the most important thing at the economic level is preventing shocks on the one hand, and deepening self-reliance on the other.

What the country needs is enhancing confidence in economy and focusing on productive economy, mainly increasing the production of the basic commodities, as well as investing in various sectors to generate jobs, which betters citizens’ living conditions.

Commenting on the legalisation in this arena, Absah said that the legislation system is supposed to be channelled towards preserving the Kingdom’s resources and increasing its added value in the national economy.

On the other hand, the legislation system should also protect the investors, and more than that it could be a major stimulus for businesses. The writer also drew attention to the need of revising the international agreements, to assess its benefit for Jordan.

The current period if extremely hard, the stimulus economic packages designated for pre-coronavirus stage do not fit this stage, we have to save the community and economy, she concluded.

Al Ghad’s Fahed Khitan said that school students will spend the remaining of their school hours doing distance learning.

Opinion polls have showed variation in expectations about this unprecedented experience for two million Jordanian students. However, adaptation with distance education is not easy for students and teachers alike, who need training and empowerment. Generally speaking, it seems that distance learning can be a reliable main source for education during “force majeure” events, like the one that we are experiencing.

Highlighting that the hard experience could be repeated in the future, be it a new coronavirus wave in winter, or any other similar circumstances that impose on the students to stay at their homes, the writer urged the related bodies to develop the current distance learning system.

In comparison with other countries, the Kingdom’s students were amongst the luckiest, as a UNESCO study revealed that more than 700 million students worldwide do not have internet access, accordingly they missed their right to education.

In Jordan, more than 85 per cent of students have internet access, while the practical experience revealed various problems with distance learning, including internet coverage gap, poor internet connectivity and insufficient computers, especially when there is more than one student in the same family.

He said, in terms of accessibility and coverage, the problem can be solved by asking telecom companies to develop their services, while to overcome the availability problem, Khitan called for launching an initiative to offer every public-school student a computer, emphasising that education is a constitutional right.

Ad-Dustour’s Lama Abseh said that the government’s decision to allow citizens to use their private vehicles and restart public transportation is a sound decision. Abseh said that the decision guarantees the gradual opening of sectors and, at the same time, is controlled by public health and safety requirements to preserve the progress achieved in the Kingdom regarding to the pandemic.

The writer said that since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been clear cooperation between the government and the people, as most decisions were welcomed by almost everyone. She said that the government also took some decisions based on feedback from people, the most recent of which has been ending the ban on using private vehicles within a specified time period of the day.

Similarly, the columnist said that people must display an increased sense of responsibility to maintain the Kingdom’s progress regarding the pandemic.

She said that all Jordanians must adhere to public health and safety requirements, highlighting that heads and owners of reopened sectors must be worthy of the trust given to them and commit to preventing the return of the virus.She said that these heads and owners must rigorously deal with direct selling clients who fail to adhere to instructions.

The writer said that Jordan has achieved coronavirus prevention levels to be proud of on the international arena, however, the country is in a recovery phase that must be overcome successfully. Abseh stressed that any societal neglect in this regard could lead to a relapse that Jordan cannot afford.