Local

TORONTO — Canada has earmarked nearly $380 million over the next three years to help safeguard the stability of Jordan, according to Canadian Minister of National Defence Harjit Sajjan. 

Meanwhile, the official said in a recent interview with The Jordan Times that advances are being made in the war against Daesh.

The minister was talking from Munich after meeting with His Majesty King Abdullah on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, which opened Friday. 

This support is Jordan’s share of more than $1.6 billion Canada will spend in the form of humanitarian assistance in the region as part of its new anti-Daesh strategy that was announced by the NATO member country earlier last week.

“It is complete, robust and will make a difference for people around the world,” Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, speaking to reporters after the official announcement was made.

This support is separate from other pledges made from countries at the London donor conference held on February 4, where Jordan secured more than $8 billion in grants, semi-grants and cheap loans for 2016-2018.

Sajjan, who was in Jordan in late November with other Canadian ministers to view the situation on the ground and help fulfill Canada’s other commitment, bringing 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada (over 10,000 from Jordanian refugee camps), told The Jordan Times that His Majesty King Abdullah’s “deep understanding of the region compounded by his military background offers a completely different dynamic for us and allows us all to get a much better understanding of what can be done through the overall plan”.

Canada’s top diplomat on defence explained that His Majesty’s “caliber as a great leader” shows and that despite the difficulties he is facing, he does not complain and, instead, thinks of what can be done or how Jordan can further help.

On his Munich meeting with the King, the Canadian official said: “He was making sure we were getting the knowledge we needed; he sees the wider context and sees much wider than just the borders with Syria and Iraq,” foreseeing threats far afield, like the growing terror in Africa.

 Advances on Daesh: ‘Progress is there’  

There are many advances made in the war against Daesh by the US-led coalition.

“A lot of progress is made you cannot just see openly.”

He further explained that with the complexity of conflict, there are certain parts of the plan, such as the non-military efforts that cannot have a timeline. 

“The stability within Jordan is actually proof of the success of the coalition’s plan” and that of Jordan, where the army and the security forces have done a good job to protect the country. 

Comprehensive strategy 

Canadian officials have said that the North American country now follows a comprehensive anti-terror strategy that takes into account capacity building of the Iraqi military, including a steep rise in the number of military personnel deployed for non-combat tactical training.

Other measures have been added such as the provision of equipment, small arms and strategic advisers to assist Iraqi security forces, along with non-military contributions like a reserved $145 million over the next three years for counterterrorism efforts, according to Prime Minister Trudeau’s office. 

The humanitarian aspect of the strategy includes the building of local capacity in countries hosting large numbers of refugees, mainly Jordan and Lebanon, including support in the fields of education, healthcare, sanitation, infrastructure, job generation, economic growth and good governance.

The officials said that Canada would increase its diplomatic presence in the region, including more representatives in Jordan, to work, among other goals, towards finding political solutions to regional crises.

AMMAN — About JD420 million will be spent in 2016-2018 on various key projects to develop the country's governorates, according to the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation.

The amounts will be used to finance key projects in sectors such as education, health and infrastructure, among others, said the ministry's achievements report for 2015, which was made available to The Jordan Times.

The funding will be channelled to implement income-generating projects across the governorates over the next three years. In addition, some of the allocations will be used to conduct feasibility studies on investments in various areas across the country.

The financing will also support a programme to extend rotating loans to citizens to start their own projects and to address problems and issues faced by local communities, especially pockets of poverty, the report said.

The ministry indicated that several field visits will be conducted in various areas across the Kingdom to brief local communities on the projects on the drawing board.

In 2015, JD53.3 million worth of projects were implemented in the fields of tourism, agriculture, water, health, and education, among several others, the report noted.

From the total, around JD17 million was invested in education and JD10 million in health, according to the report, which indicated that spending also covered projects in the fields of water and wastewater, youth, municipalities, agriculture and tourism. 

AMMAN — The Lower House on Sunday rejected the draft meteorology law, which it has received just recently from the government.

Late last month, the government referred the draft law to the House, putting its validating reasons as seeking to regulate meteorological activities and services such as weather forecasts.

The bill, as put by the government, also seeks to provide a single main point of reference that gives weather and climate-related data and information, impose punitive measures against anyone who damages meteorology department equipment, and penalise unlicensed parties that issue weather warnings to the public.

Violators face a jail sentence between six months and one year, in addition to a fine no less than JD1,000 and no more than JD20,000, under the draft law.

Former House speaker MP Abdul Karim Dughmi (Mafraq, 1st District) described the law as "martial", "tongue-holding" and "a step backwards", adding that is proof of the government's "money collection policy".

In response to MPs, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour said the draft law had been in the Legislation and Opinion Bureau since 2014, describing the bill as "progressive" and "protective" of the sector.

Ensour also said that the government does not target a specific entity with the law, and it is everywhere in the world because it is needed to regulate the sector and hold accountable any meteorological agency basing its forecasts on no scientific methods.

In remarks during a visit to the Jordan Meteorological Department (JMD) in January, Ensour said weather forecast bulletins issued by the department should be accurate and credible as much as possible, stressing that inaccuracies result in large losses to the economy.

After decades of operating solely, the JMD is facing competition today from emerging professional and amateur forecasters.

A polar front that affected the Kingdom last month was accompanied by contradictory weather forecasts that caused confusion among Jordanians.

Also during Sunday's session, the 150-strong House decided to postpone its deliberation of the draft Treaty of Mutual Assistance on Criminal Matters signed between Jordan and the US until it receives a full copy of the agreement.

Some lawmakers' accused the government of approving an agreement that violates the Kingdom's sovereignty. 

Ensour apologised for not sending the agreement's supplement, stressing lawmakers' right to know everything and calling for an investigation into why the treaty arrived incomplete to the House. 

MPs also passed the 2011 amendments to the Industry and Trade Law, removing a provision that allowed the establishment of independent business societies.

The House also endorsed the economic projects development law which was amended in line with the government's decision to cancel the Jordanian Commission for Improving the Investment Environment under the restructuring plan. 

AMMAN — The Jordan Enterprise Development Corporation (JEDCO) on Sunday launched the "Accelerate with JEDCO" programme, aimed at enhancing the growth and competitiveness of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The programme is in line with the national strategy for business entrepreneurship and SME development, and it is one of the strategy's executive plans, designed according to the "best international standards" in the field, JEDCO CEO Hana Uraidi said at the launch ceremony.

"Today, we have a national strategy to enhance the Jordanian products' competitiveness... Achieving competitiveness requires adopting programmes that can develop the necessary skills and build on the administrative and productive abilities," Uraidi highlighted.

Relevant studies have found that competitiveness does not entirely rely on lowering production costs and raising the efficiency of operations, quality and production, but also on other skills such as the abilities to connect and change, the CEO added.

The ability to connect, Uraidi explained, is related to enterprises' skills in communicating effectively with international markets and having enough information channels on market trends, legislation, trade volume and agreements, in addition to other data on consumer behaviours.

"As for the ability to change, it is related to certain enterprises' capability to adapt with future market circumstances and effecting the necessary changes to respond to market forces or expectations," she told reporters and other stakeholders and programme partners.

Mais Haddadin, representative of programme partner PERA, identified high growth businesses as those capable of achieving a 20 per cent growth per year over three years.

"Studies have proven that 5 per cent of those SMEs can contribute to 50 per cent of the growth of any country regardless of the sector," Haddadin noted.

In Jordan, around 1 to 3 per cent of the SMEs have potential for high growth, she added.

The initiative is implemented by JEDCO with funding from the European Investment Bank and the Deauville Partnership trust fund, according to the organisers.

Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply Maha Ali said what is different in this programme, to be implemented between 2016 and 2018, is that it is tailored for the targeted SMEs and conforms to international standards.

"The programme matches the Jordan 2025 vision to increase the competitiveness of our economic institutions, especially that 98 per cent of these institutions are classified as SMEs," Ali added.

AMMAN — A special team from the Criminal Investigation Department’s (CID) cyber security unit have arrested a suspect wanted for "using social media for scams", a Public Security Department (PSD) statement said Sunday.

Several weeks ago, the team started investigating a pattern of similar cases where women reported an anonymous person who pretended to seek their hand in marriage, but ended up taking their money and disappearing.

The PSD said that initial investigation revealed the suspect created fake profiles on a social media website and sent friend requests to women and girls, then talked to them and told them he wants to marry but cannot because he is under heavy debt.

Therefore, he reportedly asked the targets for financial help to be able to proceed with the engagement. 

The suspect then allegedly took money and disappeared.

The CID cyber security unit's team was able to identify the suspect, who turned out to be wanted for nine crimes, and arrest him, the PSD statement said. 

The team scanned the suspect's mobile phones, through which they ascertained that he scammed several women and took their money, and then the referred him to court.

The PSD said last week that it has been receiving complaints by young women saying they have been contacted by men who pretend to be seeking their hands in marriage but end up blackmailing them instead.

PSD Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi at the time told The Jordan Times that these cases are common on social media.

“The department of cybercrimes has received complaints about a man who contacts women with the false excuse of seeking marriage,” he said.

After the woman talks to him, he starts threatening to use that against her and demands an amount of money to keep quiet, Sartawi said, noting that the scam usually involves two men.

AMMAN — Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour has become the longest serving premier since His Majesty King Abdullah's accession to the Throne in 1999, with experts saying the current government will most likely continue until next year.

"The constitutional term of the Lower House will end in January 2017. According to Article 64 of the Constitution, the government which is in office when Parliament is dissolved must resign within one week of the dissolution," Minister of Political and Parliamentary Affairs Khaled Kalaldeh told The Jordan Times on Sunday.

In addition, the prime minister during whose term Parliament is dissolved cannot form a new government.

"Until the date of Parliament's dissolution, the current government will remain in power as long as the people, represented by the House, are satisfied with it," said the minister.

In earlier remarks, Kalaldeh noted that "if the current House completes its four-year term, which ends on January 29, 2017, the elections are to be held four months before that or a maximum of two years following it as per the constitutional authorities granted to the King",  citing Article 68 of the Constitution.

Paragraph A of the said article reads: “The term of office of the Chamber of Deputies shall be four calendar years commencing from the date of the announcement of the results of the general elections in the Official Gazette. The King may, by a Royal Decree, prolong the term of the Chamber for a period of not less than one year and not more than two years.”

Political analyst Waleed Hosni also expects Ensour's government to remain in office, at least until May 15, 2016, which marks the end of the House's ordinary session.

"I don't think there will be any surprising changes. The House and the current government are devoutly connected. They came together and will leave together," Hosni told The Jordan Times in a phone interview, adding that the government is dependent on the House for survival.

"This government enjoyed a free confidence by the House," he said.

Ensour, whose first Cabinet came to power on October 10, 2012, was appointed as premier after Fayez Tarawneh's government, which served for six months, resigned.

Nearly five months later, on March 30, 2013, Ensour was entrusted to form another government.

Ensour's term exceeded that of Ali Abul Ragheb, who was first entrusted to form a government on June 19, 2000, while his second term started on January 13, 2002 and ended on July 20, 2003.

His government has been dealing with major regional developments, including the Syrian crisis, which resulted in the influx of around 1.3 million Syrian refugees into Jordan, contributing to deepening economic difficulties already facing the Kingdom.

AMMAN — The government’s decision to regulate the entry of nationals of some Arab countries to the Kingdom through the visa system has negatively affected medical tourism, a sector leader said on Sunday.

For the first time, Jordan witnessed a drop in the number of foreign healthcare seekers in 2015, with a total of 200,000 medical tourists, said Private Hospitals Association (PHA) President Fawzi Hammouri.

The figure marked a 10-15 per cent decrease in the number of patients and revenues generated, compared to over 250,000 patients generating revenues of JD1 billion in 2014, according to preliminary PHA figures.

Countries such as Yemen, Libya, Syria, Iraq and Sudan are major markets for medical tourism to the Kingdom, Hammouri said, noting that Jordan has no diplomatic missions in those countries to facilitate the process of issuing visas.

He noted that some war-torn countries in the region lack a reference authority for Jordanian hospitals to coordinate with.

Another challenge for the medical tourism industry is the increase in operational expenses due to the hike in electricity tariffs, with hospitals paying around JD0.27 per kilowatt-hour, while other sectors such as factories, hotels and shopping malls pay JD0.08, JD0.09 and JD0.12 per kilowatt-hour respectively, according to the PHA president.

The current electricity tariffs weaken the competitiveness of local hospitals, he said, especially with the rise of competing healthcare destinations in the region that offer discounts for family and friends accompanying patients.

On the other hand, Hammouri noted that insurance prices that hospitals collect from treating local patients are subsidised and low when compared to fees from non-Jordanians. 

The sector representative encouraged public and private stakeholders to give more attention to promoting medical tourism in Jordan.

Complications that occur during or after surgeries in Jordan are within international norms, he added, warning of some efforts by parties with their own agendas to harm the reputation of the sector. 

Hammouri expected the “dangerous” performance of the medical tourism sector to deteriorate further in 2016, as the visa regulations affecting nationals of some Arab countries went into effect late last year.

“We should at least contribute to factors we can control,” he said.

AMMAN — A 63-year-old man reportedly shot his wife, who had cancer, and then turned the gun on himself in the capital’s Hai Nazzal suburb on Sunday, senior official sources said.

Later in the evening, a man shot his wife dead and injured his three children before killing himself in Rujm Al Shami area in south Amman, Public Security Department Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi said, adding that the three children are in critical condition.

The first incident, which occurred at around 9:30am, shook the building where the couple resided, a senior judicial source said.

“The residents heard gunshots and immediately called the police,” the judicial source told The Jordan Times.

When investigators arrived at the scene, they found “the 57-year-old woman dead in her bed [a medical bed used in hospitals] and her husband was next to her”, the source said, noting that both were shot in the head at close range.

Police found a note next to the couple “believed to be written by the husband, addressed to his son and daughter, in which he said he committed this act of his own free will and asked them not to hold an aza [mourning ceremony]”, the source added.

In their initial testimony to Criminal Court Prosecutor Issam Haddidi, the victims’ relatives said the woman “had been treated for cancer for the past few years and had a few months to live”.

The husband, the source maintained, “was suffering from mental problems and there was a record of him being treated at hospitals for epilepsy”.

“Everyone testified that the couple, who were cousins, enjoyed a good marital relationship and that the husband was taking care of his sick wife, who was almost paralysed,” the judicial source said, citing initial testimonies from relatives.

Haddidi would not make a conclusion on the possibility of foul play until receiving the crime lab’s results from blood and tissue samples taken from the victims, according to the judicial source.

“Based on the results Haddidi will either close the case or continue with the investigations,” the judicial source said.

An autopsy is expected to take place on Monday at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, according to its director, Kais Koussous.

“A team of government physicians will conduct an autopsy tomorrow and the findings will be forwarded to the Criminal Court prosecutor,” Koussous told The Jordan Times. 

AMMAN — The West Amman Court on Sunday ruled that the Jordan Teachers Association’s (JTA) council be dissolved for violating the syndicate’s law.

The court found that the council had breached Article 15 of the JTA Law, which stipulates that the syndicate’s central commission shall hold an ordinary meeting within the second week of October each year.

The lawsuit was filed by a member of the council due to commission’s failure to call for an ordinary meeting in October 2014.

JTA spokesperson, Ayman Okour, said the association “respects the Jordanian law and court verdicts”, noting that the ruling can be appealed.

“This is a preliminary decision that does not entail any legal or executive measures against the council,” he said in an e-mail sent to The Jordan Times.

Okour stressed that dissolving the council can only be possible with a definitive judicial decision according to Article 27 of the JTA Law.

Asked on the motive behind the lawsuit, Okour charged that “some insist on dissolving the council or hindering its work in this very sensitive period”.

“The central commission is heading towards elections and some are working to disrupt the process,” he told The Jordan Times, without giving further details.

Established under a 2011 law, the association has 140,000 members.

The JTA central commission has 313 members, while the syndicate’s council is made up of 15 members.

AMMAN — Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) personnel have arrested two suspects allegedly involved in an attempt to smuggle narcotic pills, a Public Security Department (PSD) statement said on Sunday. 

AND agents received information a few days ago that several people hid an amount of narcotic pills inside a glass door closer that were supposed to be sent as a parcel through a shipping agency to another country.

The shipping office was identified and the two suspects were tracked and arrested, the PSD said. 

They were in possession the package, with15,000 narcotic pills hidden inside the door closers.

Initial investigation revealed there are three other accomplices and search for them is still under way. 

Last week, AND agents foiled an attempt to smuggle 40,000 Captagon pills that were hidden inside book covers.

The suspects involved were allegedly attempting to smuggle the illegal narcotics into a neighbouring country via a shipping company.

In previous remarks to The Jordan Times, an AND official said the Syrian conflict, the refugee crisis and turmoil in surrounding countries are to blame for the new illicit drug smuggling methods the Kingdom has been witnessing over the past four years.

In recent incidents, smugglers have resorted to using sheep, car tyres, biscuit packets, packages of sweets, olives, large marble blocks and children’s beds to hide illegal narcotics.

Several cases have also involved suspects smuggling drugs in their stomachs.