Deputies refer political parties bill to House committee

AMMAN — The Lower House on Sunday referred the draft political parties law to a joint legal and public freedom committee to examine the legislation prior to opening it for deliberations under the Dome this month.

The decision came during the 150-member House’s first meeting in the current extraordinary session, during which MPs are scheduled to discuss 13 bills, according to a Royal Decree issued on May 3 summoning Parliament to reconvene for a month.

Speaking under the Dome, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour said the government has reached an understanding with the Jordanian Electric Power Company (JEPCO) over renewing its licence.

The premier was responding to a query by Deputy Adnan Ajarmeh (Amman, 7th District) over speculations that the government has agreed to renew JEPCO’s licence for 20 years. 

However, Ensour said “no agreement has been reached in this regard yet”, noting that the company’s board has to obtain its shareholders’ prior agreement, before it can sign any deal.

The negotiations between the government and the company over the licence started two years ago, the premier added.

Later on Sunday, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported that the Cabinet approved an agreement between the government and JEPCO to settle all claims.

The agency also quoted the Energy Ministry as saying that the Energy and Mineral Resources Regulatory Commission also reached an agreement with JEPCO to grant it a 20-year licence in return for JD65 million, and at a revenue cap constituting 16 per cent of its capital.

Under the deal, the government can buy the project when the licence expires, according to Petra.

At Sunday’s House session, 25 MPs signed a memorandun demanding that the government provide support for all Jordanians who rented houses after 2012 to help them deal with the hike in rents due to the Syrian refugee crisis.