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AMMAN — The Ministry of Health on Sunday concluded its second nationwide immunisation campaign against polio, and is planning to launch a third one soon.

Mohammad Abdullat, director of the Health Ministry’s communicable diseases directorate, said the campaign covered 97 per cent of the targeted group — children under the age of five.

Figures he cited showed that 790,000 children were immunised against polio over the past week.

Of the total, 82,741 children are Syrians living among host communities, and some 16,000 are Syrian children living in the camps.

Abdullat said a meeting will be held soon to decide when to launch the third campaign.

The first nationwide vaccination campaign was carried out in November last year, covering polio, measles and rubella.

During the three-week campaign, 1,093,532 children were immunised against polio, 115,150 of them Syrian.

Funded by UNICEF, the immunisation campaigns are based on WHO recommendations to give two to four doses of polio vaccine to children in countries bordering any states where cases of the disease were discovered.

In previous remarks, Abdullat said 17 cases of polio were discovered in neighbouring Syria in 2013, almost 15 years after the disease was eliminated there.

In Jordan, the last polio case was discovered in 1992.

Before the launch of the campaign, health officials and experts said the vaccines the Health Ministry gives to children in Jordan are “safe” and parents need not worry.

Representatives of the ministry, UNICEF, WHO and other partners have said that the vaccinations given in Jordan are also administered in the countries that produce them, and all the required tests have been conducted to ensure their safety.

AMMAN — The Lower House on Sunday endorsed a new provision in the Passports Law that gives the Cabinet and the interior minister the authority to grant “regular passports” to investors and for humanitarian reasons.

The move triggered strong discussion under the Dome, with some MPs expressing fears that this provision could open the door for unlawful practices by the government.

They demanded that the amendment specify the cases under which the Cabinet could grant regular passports to non-Jordanians.

Under the amended article, authorities can grant investors “regular passports” valid from one to five years, based on a recommendation from the interior minister.

The holder of the passport does not receive Jordanian nationality and the government can withdraw the passport at any time. The amendment also authorises the director of the Civil Status and Passports Department to grant “regular passports” that are valid for less than a year for humanitarian reasons.

Interior Minister Hussein Majali said this would serve a large segment of society, particularly the sons of Jordanian women married to foreigners, who seek to work outside the country or to travel.

However, Deputy Bassam Btoush (Karak, 3rd District) expressed fears that this amendment would threaten the Palestinian cause if abused by granting passports to Palestinian refugees who wish to travel, arguing that the passport is a step towards granting them nationality and harming their right to return to their homeland in Palestine.

“There are no hidden agendas behind this proposal,” Majali said, adding that it is aimed at attracting foreign investors to the Kingdom and to deal with a “very limited” number of humanitarians cases.

But some MPs said the Kingdom is hosting 35 nationalities, insisting that the amendment will open the door for abuse by future governments if not this one.

Meanwhile, the Lower House decided to refer the draft amendments to the Anti-Corruption Commission Law to its legal committee for review.

The MPs also referred proposed amendments to the 2103 Municipalities Law to the Financial Committee to examine the impact of the changes on citizens.

Prime Minster Abdullah Ensour said the new provision provides all producers and suppliers of oil derivatives with equal opportunities in connection to “fuel taxes”.

Currently, the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company adds 8 per cent to the cost of oil derivates designated to support the municipalities.

But since that the 50-year concession agreement with the refinery has ended and there are three other companies working in this sector, it is inevitable to amend the provision in a way that addresses this.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday met with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is visiting Jordan as part of a Middle East tour.

Discussions during the meeting, attended by HRH Crown Prince Hussein, covered prospects for further cooperation and issues of mutual concern, in addition to the latest developments in the regional and international arenas, according to a Royal Court statement.

His Majesty underlined his commitment to boosting cooperation with Sri Lanka at all levels, particularly in the trade and investment fields to best serve the interests of the two countries.

Talks also focused on the situation in the Middle East, especially efforts to bring about peace and put an end to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict according to the two-state solution and the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative.

The two leaders also discussed the developments in Syria and its impact on the region and the Kingdom.

Rajapaksa voiced his appreciation for the services that Jordan offers to Sri Lankan workers in the Kingdom, expressing his country’s keenness on benefiting from Jordanian expertise in the public and private sectors.

He commended King Abdullah for his “pivotal” role in maintaining stability and security in the region, according to the statement.

AMMAN — The negative impact of the Syrian crisis on Jordan’s economy will remain for many years to come, a senior economist said on Sunday.

Khalid Wazani, a leading economist, said the Kingdom’s economy was already in trouble in 2011, before the start of the Syrian crisis, but the burden increased after hosting hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees.

Wazani’s presentation was made at the Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Knowledge Forum during the launch of a “Proposed Study on the Needs of Displaced Syrians”.

“Regardless of the amount of aid that the country is receiving to compensate for hosting Syrian refugees, the impact of the Syrian crisis on Jordan’s economy will stay huge,” Wazani said, adding that there are no serious talks among stakeholders about saving the Kingdom’s economy from the impact of the Syrian crisis.

He noted that each Syrian refugee will increase the burden on Jordan’s budget by $3,000 and the annual burden for hosting one million refugees will exceed $3 billion.

“No one will be able to measure this impact on the infrastructure or education until after 10 years or more,” the expert argued, explaining that the quality of education will be deteriorating as a result of having crowded classes.

He also indicated that the population growth rate has increased threefold, from 2.2 per cent to 6.6 per cent because of the refugee influx.

The number of Syrian refugees registered with the UNHCR in Jordan is 560,000, which constitutes 8 per cent of the country’s population and there are more than 500,000 Syrians not registered as refugees, Wazani noted.

Of the total number of registered refugees, only 125,000 are in refugee camps, and the rest are in host communities, which adds further strain on the infrastructure and affects employment opportunities for Jordanians.

As for the age category of the Syrian refugees, 80 per cent of them are less than 35 years old and 40 per cent are under 11.

“According to an unofficial assessment, the United Nations statistics on the number of persons displaced by the conflict in Syria are possibly underestimated by 30 per cent,” said the study developed by Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Consulting (TAG-Consult).

“The total cost of supporting these displaced persons is around $5.4 billion each year and represents a significant strain and burden on regional, social and financial structures,” TAG-Consult said in a statement distributed on Sunday.

The study showed that there are 12 million displaced Syrians, including the internally displaced and those in host countries.

“Those figures were in contrast to figures issued by various UN agencies which estimated the number of displaced Syrians to be only 8.7 million,” the study said, adding that these figures are likely to continue to rapidly increases as a result of the ongoing crisis and because of the natural birthrates among the displaced population.

The difference between the UN and TAG-Consult projection was explained by TAG as that while the UN accounts for registered and waiting-to-be registered displaced Syrians, “TAG-Consult’s methodology accounts for all displaced persons including those who have not attempted any kind of registration with UN agencies”.

It added in a statement that TAG-Consult is expected to soon release a proposal under the title of “Friends of the Displaced Syrians” within and outside Syria.

“The document will highlight the numbers of displaced, as well as the average cost per capita, the annual total costs and the impact on host communities,” the statement said. 

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday held talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry that covered bilateral ties and the latest regional developments, with focus on the peace process and the Syrian crisis.

During the meeting, which was attended by HRH Crown Prince Hussein, the King reiterated Jordan’s support for peace efforts aimed at achieving a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict that guarantees the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within the pre-1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital, according to a Royal Court statement.

The Monarch also renewed Jordan’s unaltered support for the US-brokered peace negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis based on the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative and the international resolutions in a way that safeguards the Kingdom’s higher interests especially those concerning the final status issues, the statement said.

The King also renewed Jordan’s stance that calls for a comprehensive political solution to the Syrian crisis that can preserve its territorial unity and end the suffering of its people.

He underlined the burden undertaken by the resource-limited Kingdom as a result of hosting more than half a million Syrian refugees.

For his part, Kerry briefed the King on the efforts exerted to achieve progress in the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks, expressing gratitude for Jordan’s efforts in this regard and also to its humanitarian assistance to the Syrian refugees, according to the Royal Court.

Kerry also briefed the Monarch on the US’ efforts to hold the projected Geneva II peace conference on Syria, according to the statement.

The meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, and key officials and diplomats from both countries.

During a press conference in Jerusalem earlier in the day, Kerry, who left Amman for Saudi Arabia, rejected Israeli and Palestinian claims the US was biased, Agence France-Presse reported.

He promised any agreed plan would be “fair and balanced” and likened his efforts to broker a compromise between the conflicting demands of the two sides to a puzzle.

“In the end all of these core issues fit together like a mosaic, like a puzzle and you can’t separate out one piece or another,” Kerry said.

Each piece was interlinked, he stressed, and depended on the compromises the other side might be prepared to make.

“And there’s always tension as to when you put your card on the table as to which piece you’re willing to do, when and how,” said Kerry.

But he warned his efforts could ultimately fail, saying he could not tell when “the last pieces may decide to fall into place, or may fall on the floor, and leave the puzzle unfinished. That’s exactly what makes this such a challenge”.

On his talks in Jordan and Saudi Arabia, a senior State Department official was quoted by AFP as saying that Kerry wanted to “seek their counsel on the discussion with the Israelis and Palestinians about a framework for final status negotiations”.

He then flew to Saudi Arabia for talks with King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz at his desert residence outside Riyadh.

“Thank you so much for agreeing to see me on such short notice,” Kerry told the king after arriving on a short helicopter flight from the Riyadh airport, the agency reported.

Jordan borders the occupied West Bank and under its 1994 peace treaty with Israel is recognised as playing a historic role in the guardianship of Muslim sites in East Jerusalem.

Jordan has repeatedly said that final status issues lie at the core of its strategic national interests, which include the issues of Jerusalem, refugees, borders and water.

The Saudi king was the author of a 2002 Arab League Peace Initiative, which Kerry praised again Sunday as holding out the prospect for “instantaneously” reaching peace between Israel and “22 Arab nations and 35 Muslim nations, all of whom have said they will recognise Israel if peace is achieved”.

Kerry kick-started nine months of direct negotiations in July after a three-year hiatus. But Israeli and Palestinian officials have both traded accusations in recent days.

“The Palestinians are continuing their campaign of inciting hatred, as we have seen in the last few days with their refusal to recognise Israel as a state for the Jewish people,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his Cabinet on Sunday.

“This is the main issue that we’re discussing with [Kerry]. Among other key topics are Israel’s security, which must remain in its hands,” he added, in comments broadcast by public radio.

He was speaking after a Palestinian source said Washington was proposing a mixed Israeli-Palestinian military presence to ensure security in the area, without setting a deadline when the Israeli troops would be withdrawn.

But Kerry insisted: “I can guarantee all parties that President [Barack] Obama and I are committed to putting forward ideas that are fair, that are balanced, and that improve the security of all the people of this region.”

A peace treaty would deal with all core issues dividing the two sides, including the contours of a future Palestinian state, refugees, the fate of Jerusalem claimed by both as a capital, security and mutual recognition.

A Cabinet member close to Netanyahu said Sunday Israel rejects any US-proposed security concessions for the Jordan Valley, where the West Bank borders Jordan.

“Security must remain in our hands. Anyone who proposes a solution in the Jordan Valley by deploying an international force, Palestinian police or technological means... does not understand the Middle East,” said Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday attended a ceremony to honour the first round of winners of an initiative that seeks to support creative individuals involved in community service.

A total of 97 young Jordanians from across the country with various initiatives serving their local communities were announced as winners of the first round of the Youth Empowerment Windows Initiative, which is part of the Democratic Empowerment Programme “Demoqrati” launched by His Majesty in mid-2013.

Two documentaries highlighting the procedures taken following the launch of Demoqrati and samples of projects that won under the initiative were screened at the ceremony, also attended by HRH Crown Prince Hussein.

Omar Razzaz — chairperson of the King Abdullah II Fund for Development which implements the programme — highlighted the phases of Demoqrati and noted that 46 per cent of the winners were from the central region, 33 per cent from the northern region and 21 per cent from the south.

Also at the ceremony, attended by HRH Princess Rym Ali and Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour, King Abdullah listened to a briefing by several Jordanians about their initiatives and programmes.

Launched by His Majesty in June, Demoqrati is founded on development-boosting values such as the rule of the law, rejection of violence, acceptance of others, dialogue and accountability.

It is also meant to stimulate civil society institutions to play their role as a key supporter of citizens and issues of concern to the public.

It seeks to engage all segments of society, especially young people, in building a conscious democratic culture and facilitate it through democratic institutions and supportive civil society organisations, based on confidence in the country’s ability to make change and progress in its development process, according to the programme’s literature.

Speaking at the ceremony, KAFD Director Qais Qatamin said the strategy of the Demoqrati programme is based on organising debate clubs, encouraging wider political involvement, utilising youth creativity to serve the community and providing opportunities for youth empowerment.

The programme’s four youth empowerment “windows of opportunity” seek to encourage young people to join voluntary initiatives, institutionalise existing youth initiatives, support local community organisations to expand the outreach of their projects, and provide financial and technical support to larger projects to turn them into nationwide initiatives that reach the Kingdom’s governorates.

At a press conference following the ceremony, Razzaz stressed the importance of the Democratic Empowerment Programme, which, he said, has so far helped many Jordanians implement their creative ideas and benefit their local communities.

He added that another round will be held in April under which young Jordanians can implement their initiatives.

Winners receive financial support ranging between JD100 and JD50,000 to help them implement their plans, Razzaz said.

“We are keen to render the programme a success. That needs the cooperation of all,” he added.

Some of the winners showcased their initiatives at the press conference, saying that Demoqrati helped them realise their dreams in providing better services to the community and addressing issues of concern to them and their society.

Demoqrati seeks to enhance the values of democracy, enroot democratic practices in society and push the development process forward.

AMMAN — Construction commenced on Saturday on two main water conveyors for Ajloun and Jerash governorates to address water shortages due to the growing population in the northern region, officials said on Saturday.

The Ministry of Water and Irrigation signed agreements worth JD25 million for the establishment of water mains and pipes in the two governorates by the year 2016, according to the officials.

“The two conveyors will be among the Kingdom’s main water projects. They aim at delivering water from the Disi Water Conveyance Project to the northern governorates, which suffer from an acute water shortage due to limited resources and the rising population,” Water Minister Hazem Nasser said in a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times.

The Ajloun project entails the construction of a 31-kilometre pipeline from Hofa Reservoir in Irbid Governorate to Ajloun, some 70km northwest of Amman, to transfer 10 million cubic metres of water annually, in addition to the rehabilitation of the reservoir water pumping stations in the governorate, Nasser added.

In Jerash Governorate, a 34-kilometre pipeline will be built to transfer water from a pumping station in Mafraq to Hofa Reservoir in Irbid and eventually to Jerash Reservoir to channel some 13 million cubic metres of water from the Disi project, according to the minister.

He underscored that the project also entails the renovation of reservoirs, pumping stations and water networks in certain areas in Jerash, around 48km north of the capital.

Water Ministry Spokesperson Omar Salameh told The Jordan Times that the two projects in Jerash and Ajloun seek to provide additional amounts of water to address an increasing gap between supply and demand due to the continuous influx of Syrian refugees.

The northern region suffers from water shortages caused by limited resources, violations to main water lines and deteriorating networks, while the situation has worsened with the influx of Syrians, according to ministry officials.

The total number of Syrians living in Jordan is estimated at over 1.3 million, over half-a-million of whom are refugees who arrived in the Kingdom following the onset of the conflict in their country in March 2011, according to official figures.

More than 70 per cent of the Syrian refugees in Jordan live amongst host communities, while the rest are accommodated at the Zaatari Refugee Camp in Mafraq Governorate and the Mreijeb Al Fhoud Camp in Zarqa Governorate.

AMMAN — Hostilities across southern Syria drove over 1,000 Syrians into the Kingdom over the weekend, as Jordanian officials called for urgent international support to face a deepening refugee crisis.

The Jordan Armed Forces said some 600 Syrians crossed into the country on Saturday and 500 on Friday, continuing an ongoing influx that has seen over 2,000 arrivals over the past 72 hours.

Syrian activists and border region residents claim that clashes between regime and rebel forces are threatening the lives of over 7,000 displaced civilians who have allegedly sought refuge in under-siege towns.

According to the Fee Syrian Army, 20 displaced people were among the casualties of regime-led air strikes over the weekend, raising to 210 the total number of refugees who have allegedly lost their lives in Damascus’ three-month aerial offensive across southern Syria.

Meanwhile, Jordanian officials called on the international community for emergency assistance in order to cope with a growingly “unpredictable” humanitarian crisis that continues to drive thousands of refugees into the country.

In an interview with the Al Arabiya news network on Friday, Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh urged the international community to “shoulder its responsibility” and step up its support to the Kingdom as it struggles to cope with the burdens of hosting an estimated 1.2 million Syrians.

UN officials have renewed calls on the international community to increase its support to host countries such as Jordan, whose refugee community is expected to cost the government over $2 billion in 2014.

The UNHCR recently issued a ranking of the top 10 refugee hosting countries, on which Jordan came third, after Iran and Pakistan.

AMMAN — Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour on Saturday called for openness and expertise exchange among state agencies in order to eliminate barriers between government apparatuses and improve the quality of work.

Speaking at the second Government Leaders Forum, he underlined the need for all institutions to cooperate with the King Abdullah II Award for Excellence in Government Performance and Transparency to implement its concepts.

Ensour noted that the new civil service bylaw, which came into force this year, will contribute to addressing challenges facing government agencies, especially the bloated employment structure, as studies show that there are more than 20 employees doing the job of one in some institutions.

"The government apparatus is bloated and needs to be streamlined and strengthened," he said, calling for a return to the "old, strong and more effective system" of public administration.

"We need an efficient administrative apparatus," the premier said.

Outlining the main features of the new civil service system, he said all appointments will be made via annual contracts, which guarantee that only eligible civil servants will get to keep their jobs.

The new regulations also take job security into consideration, Ensour noted, adding that only "balanced" decisions would be adopted in that respect to avoid unfair treatment of employees by directors of public institutions.

He urged civil servants to shun "unjustified delays" in serving the public, which, he said, is "a matter that cannot be accepted under any pretext".

The premier also criticised some decision makers' indecisiveness for fear of being accused of corruption.

"The blind fear of corruption is worse than the actual acts of graft," he warned, adding that the "people want a fair and firm state.”

"Every Jordanian is insulted when someone bullies the state," he said, vowing zero tolerance towards corruption or negligence and noting that "gone is the era of blackmail".