Ministry to move office for attesting certificates to ‘better location’

AMMAN — The Foreign Ministry said it will relocate its affiliated office for attesting certificates to a new building in Shmeisani as the current premises near the 1st Circle in Jabal Amman is no longer suitable to serve the public. 

In a letter to Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour late last month, Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said a commission from the ministry has selected a 1,100-square-metre villa in Shmeisani to move its office to. 

In the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Jordan Times, Judeh requested the approval of the premier to rent the two-storey villa for JD35,000 a year. The request was approved by Ensour. 

In the letter, dated November 13,  Judeh said the current office is unsuitable for offering the required services as it is a basement that cannot meet customers’ satisfaction. 

The minister cited a report by the Ministry of Public Sector Development on evaluating the quality of services in the premises. 

Judeh said the Foreign Ministry had been looking for a proper building since 2009 to “solve the problem and improve the level of services offered to clients”. 

On September 28, The Jordan Times published a report on the office in Jabal Amman and interviewed people there, who were standing in long queues extending to the street outside the building. 

People expressed their dismay over the “poor level” of services offered to them, with most having to wait for hours to have their documents attested. 

As the Public Sector Development Ministry carries out unannounced visits to government agencies, the Foreign Ministry’s office was among the selected departments. 

Inspectors wrote a report following their unannounced visit, in which they said that over 200 people were seen queuing inside and outside the premises during the inspection, adding that the building lacked accessibility for people with disabilities.

Inspectors made several negative observations related to the quality of services, such as the limited number of employees serving the large number of customers.