Mulki checks on work at civil status department

AMMAN — Prime Minister Hani Mulki on Monday visited the Civil Status and Passport Department (CSPD) and called for taking further measures to facilitate transactions for citizens and visitors.

At a meeting with CSPD Director General Marwan Qteishat, Mulki said the department would be among the first institutions whose procedures will be reviewed to maintain the most necessary and cancel any unnecessary procedures with the aim of reducing burdens on citizens, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The premier also urged the CSPD to cooperate with the Independent Election Commission in preparation for the next parliamentary elections, noting that the government will provide all forms of support for the commission to undertake its mission successfully.

He praised the department’s national role in providing an important service by preserving the records and histories of individuals, families and tribes, making it the most visited department in the Kingdom.

Mulki voiced his satisfaction with the procedures followed by the department in saving and archiving documents, citing a Cabinet decision on Sunday to support the archive project at the CSPD with JD2 million.

He also called on the department to contact visitors whose transactions are not completed on the same day via an SMS that contains the scheduled finish time, Petra added.

It is important to work hard to finish expatriates’ transactions, especially in summer when many of them return to the Kingdom, Mulki said, highlighting the need to process transactions from Jordanian embassies quickly.

For his part, Qteishat praised the government’s support for the e-archive project, describing the process as very important for Jordan’s history.

The department has issued some 60,000 identification certificates for children of Jordanian women, he said, adding that the CSPD in cooperation with the ICT Ministry will issue the smart ID card, which is currently in its experimental phase.

Interior Minister Salameh Hammad, Minister of Political and Parliamentary Affairs and Minister of State Musa Maaytah, Minister of State for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani and Minister of Public Sector Development Yasera Ghosheh accompanied Mulki on his visit.