Local

AMMAN — Planning and International Cooperation Minister Imad Fakhoury on Monday said that his ministry is looking forward to the USAID, to fund part of the development in governorates through its programmes and projects, a ministry statement said. 

Fakhoury made his remarks during a meeting to follow up on the outcomes of the governorate development programme for the years 2016-2018 with Interior Minister Salameh Hammad, governors, US Ambassador to Jordan Alice G. Wells and USAID Mission Director in Amman Jim Barnhart.

During the meeting, Fakhoury said the funds needed to support the governorate's priorities and needs for 2016-2018 amount to JD2.188 billion, JD1.363 billion of which will be funded from budgets, ministries and independent government units, and thus the financial gap is estimated at around JD825 million.

Moreover, he said the Cabinet decided to allocate JD450 million for the years 2016-2018 to the governorates infrastructure project, and under the decision a set of top development priority projects will be implemented. 

A joint team from the Planning Ministry and USAID has conducted a tour to all governorates, during which they discussed the development priorities and the range of possible USAID contribution to funding part of the projects that are top priority for local communities, according to the statement.

Fakhoury highlighted the Interior Ministry's role, through governors, as a key partner in facilitating meetings with the public to determine the top needs of each governorate for the next three years, thus coming up with the list of development priorities that resulted from the participation of Senates, MPs, mayors, representatives from the private sector, Chamber of Commerce and Trade, and civil society institutions. 

For their part, USAID representatives gave a presentation on their executive plans to contribute in funding the projects, during which the mission director said that the priorities include supporting small- and medium-sized enterprises, creating job opportunities, training workers, supporting renewable energy projects and financing water, education, agriculture and tourism. 

During the upcoming weeks, the planning and interior ministries, in cooperation with different national funds, are going to conduct field visits on the level of governorates and administrative districts  to conduct workshops and raise awareness of the different funds and their programmes, in addition to the government's programmes aimed at supporting the citizens' productivity. 

PETRA — In 2008, local community members met to discuss a project aimed at protecting the natural heritage in Petra, which resulted in some recommendations the UNDP adopted in 2014.

On Sunday, a ceremony was held in the red-rose city to launch the project.

Called “Mainstreaming biodiversity conservation in tourism sector development in Jordan”, the project covers three locations: Dibbeen Forest Reserve, Rum Reserve and Petra Reserve, said Majid Hasanat, the project manager.

The scheme is implemented by the UNDP and is financed by the Global Environment Facility, which contributed $3.5 million.

Sunday marked the launch of several activities and projects in Petra to help the area’s tourism sector flourish again, said Hasanat, highlighting that the project is executed at national, regional and local levels.

“At national level, the project management is currently revising laws and legislation regulating the tourism activities in the Kingdom, and seeks to embed the concept of biodiversity conservation in tourist activities,” he said.

Within the regional scope, which covers the northern, central and southern regions of the Kingdom, the manager, an agricultural engineer, said the project focuses on building up the capacities of project partners to preserve biodiversity and regulate the use of land in their regions.

The tourism and municipal affairs ministries, Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority (PDTRA), Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority and the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature are partners in the effort, which is being implemented between 2014 and 2018, said Hasanat.

At the local level, in Petra, the UNDP, in cooperation with the PDTRA, will carry out several activities aimed at protecting biodiversity in the area, he said.

“Such activities include declaring Petra as a national nature reserve, developing visitor centres and implementing interactive activities to acquaint Petra visitors with the importance of the area’s natural value,” Hasanat noted.

UNDP Country Director Zena Ahmad told attendees, who consisted of media representatives, local community members and Petra officials, that the project also includes installing guiding signs at archaeological sites, building visitor centres and providing 500 vests for service providers to make it easier for tourists to spot them.

The project also entails installing environment-friendly toilets in places that lack such facilities, a first in Jordan, said Ahmad, adding that these are able to convert waste into organic fertilisers.

“The UNDP will also cooperate with PDTRA in producing short films to promote Petra’s historical and natural values, that will be shown to tourists in the Petra Visitor Centre,” added Ahmad.

The project staff has executed many surveys and field studies in Petra, which showed a “great level of richness” in natural components, with the aim of rendering Petra a nature reserve, the country director noted, highlighting that the studies “qualify Petra to be at the top nature reserve at national level”.

PDTRA Chief Commissioner Mohammad Nawafleh said that local projects, including those implemented in cooperation with UNDP, seek to organise the tourist activity at archaeological sites and enhance the tourists’ experience in a way that benefits both visitors and the local community.

“Planning for key projects in PDTRA contributes to diversifying the tourist product, making tourists stay for longer time and enhances financial revenues for investors and the local community,” Nawafleh said.

Imad Hijazin, PDTRA vice-chief commissioner and commissioner of the Petra Archaeological Park, said the new projects come in line with new PDTRA Law, which aims at developing the region, achieving sustainable development, creating an environment that attracts investment and offering a unique tourist product.

“Jordanian tourism started in this place nine decades ago, when Petra received the first organised tourist group to the Kingdom,” said Hijazin, stressing that the PDTRA will do its utmost to preserve archaeological sites and acquaint the world with them.

President of the Jordan Society of Tourism and Travel Agents Shaher Hamdan said that some of the challenges facing the tourism sector are related to laws. The society he heads seeks to overcome them by meeting with lawmakers, thus hoping to attract more tourists to Jordan.

AMMAN — The Central Traffic Department (CTD) on Monday announced that it would soon use wheel clamps on violating vehicles in addition to fines.

“The wheel clamps were used in the past in Jordan and we decided to reactivate the measure to minimise traffic congestions because sometimes we do not have enough towing trucks, while certain violations do not entail towing,” said CTD Director Col. Bassem Kharabsheh 

Kharabsheh told The Jordan Times that the penalty is part of the ongoing intensified traffic campaign to register any violations hindering traffic flow that started on Thursday. 

“Summer is approaching and we expect visitors to flock to the country which means that we will see a significant increase in the number of vehicle on our roads.  We want to ensure a smooth traffic flaw,” the officer said.

The wheel clamps are expected to arrive in the coming few weeks, said Traffic Department Director Col. Yasser Harahsheh.

“We will start in Amman then move to other governorates,” he told The Jordan Times.

Harhsheh added that the wheel clamps could remain on the vehicles for up to 48 hours as a “disciplinary measure”.

“It all depends on the type of the violation and the location. The motorists have to pay a fine as well,” Harahsheh.

Since the intensified traffic campaign began on Thursday, Kharabsheh said that an average of 13,000 tickets were issued everyday in the Kingdom. 

The crackdown focuses on double-parking near stores and places of worship, in addition to other negative practices that jeopardise the safety of motorists and pedestrians.

The traffic department said it cooperates with all police departments and stations around the Kingdom, using all the available human power. 

The campaign is also focusing other violations, such as speeding, wrongful overtaking and using the mobile phone while driving.

The PSD last week urged motorists to abide by traffic rules and ethics to ensure road safety and to ease traffic flow. 

It also called on the public to cooperate with its personnel in enforcing the law and preventing violations that could threaten peoples’ lives, according to the statement.

By the end of July 2015, 72,290 traffic accidents were recorded in the Kingdom, resulting in 338 deaths and 6,102 injuries, according to PSD figures.

Around 8 per cent of the 1.42 million vehicles registered in the Kingdom are involved in causing traffic accidents each year, Jordan Insurance Federation President Ali Wazani said in previous remarks to The Jordan Times.

Wazani noted that the number of cars involved in accidents is around 114,000 every  year.

AMMAN — The Ministry of Health on Monday announced the launch of a website for citizens to apply for health insurance coverage.

Last week, the ministry called on citizens who are not covered by any health insurance to apply at any of the ministry’s health directorate across the Kingdom.

However, due to the large number of applicants and to facilitate the procedures on citizens, the ministry decided to create the online port, Hatem Azruie, the ministry’s spokesperson told The Jordan Times.

He added that those who have internet access can apply at www.hia.gov.jo, and “those who can not apply online, can still go to the nearest health directorate”.

The official explained that the application period will extend till April 15, where applications will be reviewed in coordination with the Social Security Corporate and the Income Tax Department.

The 2015 national census showed that 68 per cent of Jordanians and 55 per cent of the Kingdom’s overall population, including children under six years old, are covered by various types of health insurance.

Around 312,000 children benefit from a Royal Decree that provides all children under the age of six with free healthcare services. 

Excluding these children, the health insurance coverage rates drops to 63 per cent among Jordanians and to 52 per cent among the entire population.

Ministry of Health insurance covers 41.7 per cent of Jordanians, followed by the military-run Royal Medical Services (38 per cent) and private insurance firms (12.4 per cent), according to the census. 

The remaining coverage is provided by university hospitals, UNRWA, international insurance, and other sources.

Around a quarter of non-Jordanians are covered by medical insurance, with over 60 per cent of those living in Jerash Governorate covered, followed by around 59 per cent of the non-Jordanian residents of Mafraq Governorate, whose population has more than doubled due to the Syrian refugee influx. 

AMMAN — The King’s Military Adviser and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Gen. Mishal Al Zaben on Monday met with US Ambassador to Jordan Alice G. Wells, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

They discussed cooperation in several issues of interest to the armies of both countries. Later in the day, Zaben left the Kingdom for a short visit to Bahrain, during which he will head the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army’s delegation participating in the meetings of the higher committee of the Jordanian-Bahraini military cooperation. 

AMMAN — Judicial Council President Hisham Tal on Monday discussed enhancing bilateral judicial and legal cooperation with President of the Moroccan Court of Cassation Mustapha Farés, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

During the meeting, attended by delegation members and officials, Tal reviewed the Jordanian experience in the judicial field, explaining the types of courts and cases they look into, in addition to his council’s role in training judicial cadres.

Tal and Farés signed a twinning agreement between the two courts to boost relations, and in order to organise visits and judicial training workshops.

AMMAN – Minister of Public Works and Housing Sami Halaseh on Monday met with his Palestinian counterpart Mufid Hasayneh, according to a statement from the Ministry of Public Works and Housing.

In a memorandum signed by both ministers, they ensured cooperation in developing work specifications and building codes related to constructional works, and to share expertise in designing and constructing mega projects.

Halaseh and Hasayneh also discussed several issues that concern both ministries including the importance of holding periodical meetings.

AMMAN – Greenpeace in the Arab world commended inaugurating the Maan wind energy project which places Jordan on the map of competition among the Arab countries. According to a Greenpeace statement.

Campaigns administrator Julien Jreissati said that Jordan has showed seriousness towards renewable energy projects by creating the national strategy, and building wind farms in Tafilah and Maan.

“We support efforts in this field which makes Jordan a leading country in diversifying its energy sources attempting to reach 100% of renewable energy in 2050” Jreissati said.   

AMMAN — The Senate on Sunday endorsed the 2015 draft integrity and anti-corruption law with no changes as referred from the Lower House, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Under the law, the Audit Bureau and the Anti-Corruption Commission will be integrated into one administrative and financially independent entity called the national centre for integrity and anti-corruption, Petra added.

As per the bill, abuse of public office, ill-gained fortunes, bribery, "wasta" (using personal connections to obtain favours or posts) and other practices are classified as corruption.
The law also stipulates that a specialised prosecutor general, appointed by the Higher Judicial Council, will look into corruption-related cases referred by the envisioned commission, Petra reported.

Also under the law, people can file complaints against public agencies for their failure to comply with the principles of the National Integrity Charter.
Passing the law last week, some MPs requested that the envisioned entity be subject to the Chamber's monitoring like the Audit Bureau.
Under lawmakers' amendments to the draft law, the envisioned commission will be managed and supervised by a president and four board members, "none of whom should hold dual citizenship".
Under the law, the commission's president and board members will be appointed by a Royal Decree under a recommendation by the prime minister.

Also on Sunday, the Upper House passed the Public Transportation Law, which was referred to the Lower House in 2010.

The law stipulates the establishment of a national fund used to the sector through providing grants and loans to operators, according to Petra.

Deliberating the law on March 15, MPs recommended that more incentives and exemptions be granted to investors and that the mandatory auto insurance system to be revisited, maintaining that such measures would have a positive impact on the public transportation sector.

Also on Sunday, the Lower House began its deliberations over the 2015 draft drugs and psychotropic substances law.

The law aims at addressing the issue of drugs in a more comprehensive manner, banning the import of chemical substances used in the illegal synthesis of narcotics, Petra reported.

In its examination of the law, the House's Legal Committee previously added a provision stiffening penalties on drug-related crimes.

The House turned down a proposal by some MPs to include "liquor" among the prohibited substances listed in the law, according to Petra.

Twenty-five lawmakers submitted a memorandum requesting a general session to discuss what they described as the "deteriorating" education, health and services sectors in the Kingdom, Petra said.

In another memorandum, 18 MPs requested that Article 5 of the Acquisition Law be revisited so that citizens, whose lands are wanted by the state to implement public projects, can have them back once they are no longer used as a public utility.   

AMMAN — The government will sign several contracts with large industries in Jordan during the next few months to supply them with natural gas to boost their competitiveness by reducing energy costs in light of a Cabinet's decision in March.

An agreement is expected to be signed with the Jordan Phosphate Mines Co. before the end of June to supply its industrial complex in Aqaba with all its natural gas needs. 

According to Hasan Hiari, head of the natural gas department at the Ministry of Energy, another agreement is expected to be signed in the next few days with Nuqul Group, a mainly hygienic paper manufacturer,  to supply its factories with gas, he told The Jordan Times in a recent interview.

A third deal concerns Al Manaseer’s steel factory, Hiari said.

“The government is very keen on supplying all industries in Jordan with natural gas. We expect more tenders to import sufficient quantities of natural gas to meet the industrialists’ needs,” he added.

The Council of Ministers tasked a steering committee with studying the decision's implementation and identifying priorities in providing gas based on available infrastructure at the targeted factories.

The industries seeking to use gas will have to build pipelines connecting their facilities with a major gas pipeline stretching between the country’s south and north, said Hiari, adding that it will be arranged with the National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) and other concerned agencies.

These factories will be connected to the network of the Jordanian Egyptian FAJR for Natural Gas Transmission and Supply Company, which is responsible for the conveyance of natural gas.

The decision entails enabling NEPCO, the main operator of Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Gas Terminal in Aqaba, to sell the surplus of gas, after all needs of electricity generation are satisfied, to local industries through FAJR.