House continues discussion of municipalities bill

AMMAN — The Lower House on Tuesday continued deliberations over the draft municipalities law, endorsing provisions that stipulate the selection of three quarters of the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) council members by election. 

Under the bill, the Cabinet appoints the last quarter and the mayor upon a recommendation from the minister of municipal affairs, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

During a morning session, deputies rejected an amendment to the draft law introduced by a joint Lower House committee, stipulating that half the appointed members of GAM’s council are to be representatives of political parties, syndicates and chambers of industry and commerce. 

Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour, who attended the meeting, said the government rejects the amendments of the joint committee, noting that party and syndicate members belong to the Lower House through election, not appointment to GAM’s council. 

The draft law gives the Council of Ministers the authority to divide municipal areas, including GAM, into local councils, each made up of at least five members including the president, according to Petra.

A municipality, which is financially and administratively independent, is run by a municipal council whose members are the heads of local councils and some of those who received the highest number of votes at these councils.

Each municipal council should be made up of at least seven members, including the mayor.

If a municipality is not divided into areas run by local councils, it is run by a council composed of a mayor and a number of members specified by the minister of municipal affairs, according to the bill.

The Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) and the Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority (PDTRA) are not subject to the draft law’s provisions to prevent overlapping with laws governing special zones. 

Ensour said the duties of ASEZA and PDTRA extend beyond the tasks of municipalities, since they include customs, taxing, importing and exporting. 

At the House’s evening session, deputies endorsed provisions regulating the meetings of municipal councils, their quorum, how they make decisions, and their jurisdictions.