Planning minister attends graduation of decentralisation trainers

AMMAN — Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury on Wednesday attended the graduation ceremony of the government employees who joined the programme of the decentralisation trainers, a Planning Ministry statement said.

The programme was implemented in cooperation with the International Cooperation Agency of the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNGI) and by international experts from The Hague Academy for Local Governance, according to the statement.

The training programme encompassed employees from the planning, interior affairs, political affairs and municipal affairs ministries, and a number of employees of municipalities and development units in several governorates, the statement said.

During the ceremony, Fakkhoury said that the ministry is currently studying the establishment of a training centre for improving the capabilities of decentralisation stakeholders over the next few months.

The centre will target the employees of local development units in governorates and municipalities as well as local governors, according to the statement.

He said the ministry’s role in building the institutional capabilities of governmental agencies is “accumulative and continuous”, and that the ministry has sent several employees of governorates development units and ministries to participate in international training programmes.

The minister added that, in support of the democratic reform process, the Planning Ministry held a donors meeting last July, providin them with the decentralisation’s action plan, and briefing them on domains where financial and technical support is needed, the statement said.

The ministry has also adopted an organisational structure to implement the decentralisation at the governorate level, and it will work on building the capabilities of those various branches to enable them of implementing domestic planning programmes, according to the stament.

The new reforms have tasked the local councils with deciding on their budgets and identifying the governorates’ priority projects, Fakhoury said, adding that the councils should be empowered to draft their development and investment plans, while enhancing the principles of accountability and responsibility to ensure equality and transparency, the statement said.

To enhance transparency, the ministry will work on enabling the councils of issuing yearly reports on their performance and making them available for citizens, the minister said.

The minister expressed appreciation for VNGI’s continuous support to the decentralisation project.

For her part, Deputy Ambassador of the Netherlands in Amman Maartje Peters noted that cooperation with Jordan will continue after this programme, especially in empowering the communities that host the Syrian refugees.