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AMMAN — The Cabinet’s decision to buy supplies for ministries and public departments from local manufacturers will encourage quality production and enhance the competitiveness of local products, a sector leader said Monday.

The move is an incentive for local manufacturers to raise the quality bar to reach international standards, Amman Chamber of Industry President Ziad Homsi told The Jordan Times.

He added that the government’s condition of receiving offers from at least three local companies will push local producers to offer “high-quality products at  competitive prices”, citing “very intense” competition with non-Jordanian products.

Homsi cited the example of the Health Ministry’s medication tenders in 2014, when non-Jordanian pharmaceutical companies won a “much larger” number of bids than local ones despite the quality of local medicines, because their prices were more competitive.   

Describing the decision as “timely” due to border closures with Syria and Iraq, he explained that even non-traditional markets for Jordanian products were affected, such as Libya and Yemen, in addition to Syria being a passage to European markets.

“We hope that the decision will apply to all public universities, government-owned companies and independent institutions, who may not consider themselves part of public administration,” Homsi said in a phone interview.

He expected the decision to have a “great impact” as the public sector accounts for 30 per cent of the total economy.

The purchases listed in the decision include stationery, food items, clothes, shoes, furniture and electric devices, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra. 

AMMAN — Public Security Department (PSD) Director Maj. Gen. Atef Saudi on Monday instructed patrol units to provide security and humanitarian assistance to everyone living in the Kingdom.

Saudi’s instructions were made during a meeting with officers who patrol the capital’s streets and neighbourhoods, according to a PSD statement

“The police chief met with patrol officers and instructed them to exert their utmost efforts to help people and be present and prepared,” PSD Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi said.

He added that this does not mean that there will be an increase in the number of police patrols on the capital’s streets.

“This is basically to encourage officers on duty, who are already doing a fine job, to be extra helpful to anyone in need,” Sartawi told The Jordan Times.

During the meeting, the police chief said deploying patrol units in residential and shopping areas, as well as other vital locations, is part of the PSD’s methodology to “enhance the sense of security and safety for citizens, residents and visitors”.

“The idea is to have officers present in these vital areas to directly get involved if needed and provide the necessary assistance,” Saudi told the patrol officers.

He stressed the importance of the shared responsibility between citizens and the police in supporting and ensuring the safety and security of the community.

“We are always eager to strengthen the humanitarian relationship between the police and our citizens to ensure” public safety, Saudi said.

AMMAN — The Foreign Ministry on Monday advised Jordanians in Belgium, especially in Brussels to exercise extreme caution in light of the security situation there.

Spokesperson Sabah Al Rafie said the embassy in Brussels has advised Jordanians not to leave their houses unless for emergencies and to keep checking its website and pages on social media for any updates on the security situation.

In case of emergency, Rafie added, Jordanians should call the Jordanian embassy in Brussels at 264077550032 and the ministry’s operations centre at 009625735166, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

AMMAN — Deputising for His Majesty King Abdullah, Royal Court Chief Fayez Tarawneh on Monday received KPMG International Chairman John B.

Veihmeyer and discussed ways to increase the company's cooperation with Jordan. Talks also covered the investment opportunities the company can benefit from in the Kingdom, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The meeting was held on the sidelines of KPMG's 14th annual conference hosted by the Kingdom this week. For his part, Veihmeyer expressed appreciation for the Kingdom in hosting the conference.

AMMAN — Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh on Monday discussed bilateral relations and a number of issues of mutual interests with British Ambassador to Jordan Edward Oakden. Tarawneh thanked the UK for its political and financial support to Jordan.

For his part, the ambassador stressed his country’s keenness on improving its relations with Jordan and with Parliament, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

AMMAN — Interior Minister Salameh Hammad on Monday met with Andrew Harper, the UNHCR representative to Jordan, and discussed means to alleviate consequences of the Syrian refugee crisis on the Kingdom’s services and security sectors.

Commending the UNHCR’s humanitarian efforts, Hammad said the Syrian refugee crisis has added tremendous burdens on Jordan’s resources, infrastructure and services. The minister called on donor countries and organisations to increase their assistance to Jordan to cope with the crisis, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

AMMAN — Labour Ministry cadres have deported 1,208 illegal guest workers of various nationalities  between October 27 and November 17, according to a ministry statement released Monday.

The ministry said it apprehended 772 illegal guest workers in Amman, 228 in Zarqa and 208 in Irbid, who usually sit on sidewalks, and near major circles and bridges to wait for work offers. In the statement, the ministry urged the public not to deal with illegal guest workers and report them by calling: 0796580666, 0777580666 or the landline 080022208.

AMMAN — Around 4,100 job seekers visited the National Employment Campaign in its fourth phase during the first week, with an average of 800 job seekers per day, the Labour Ministry said in a statement released Monday.

The fourth phase of the campaign, titled “My job — My future”, which began November 15 and ends on November 26, offers 14,000 job opportunities from 359 companies taking part in the campaign. The ministry urged those seeking further information on jobs and institutions taking part in the campaign to visit www.nees.jo.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday sent a cable of condolences to Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz over the death of Prince Bandar Bin Faisal Bin Abdulaziz. 

In the cable, His Majesty expressed his deepest sympathies to the Saudi king and people, a Royal Court statement said.

Saudi Arabia's royal court on Sunday announced that Prince Bandar passed away, according to the Saudi Press Agency. 

AMMAN — The Lower House on Sunday removed the constitutional flaw from the draft decentralisation law, granting governorate councils administrative and financial independence from the central government.

During Sunday's session, MPs revisited Paragraph A of Article 6 of the bill and passed the bill again to be sent to the Senate for endorsement.

In October, His Majesty King Abdullah returned the 2015 draft decentralisation law to Parliament, citing the bill’s incompatibility with the Constitutional Court’s interpretation of Article 121 of the Constitution. 

In a statement listing the reasons for withholding his endorsement of the draft law, the King said Paragraph A of Article 6 of the law concerning the establishment of governorate councils is incompatible with the Constitutional Court’s ruling, which stipulates that any units or councils established under a law should be administratively and financially independent from the central government.

The Senate had rephrased Paragraph A of Article 6 to read: “Each governorate shall have a council called ‘governorate council’, removing a previous phrase stating that councils established under the law should enjoy complete financial and administrative independence. 

In a joint session in September, the two Houses of Parliament passed the 20-article decentralisation bill after they disagreed twice on this provision and others. 

As the Constitutional Court’s opinion supported the deputies’ version, the Parliament’s final say was considered unconstitutional.

Also on Sunday, the Lower House passed the 2015 amendments to the Agriculture Law as referred from the government, which aim, as listed in their validating reasons, at curbing illegal logging activities and violations in forests. 

Under the law, logging of perennial trees can only be carried out after the Agriculture Ministry issues special permits. This guarantees that no damage comes to the Kingdom’s environment or forests.

A total of 12,000 violations have been recorded on bare forestry lands, Agriculture Minister Akef Zu’bi said in recent remarks, highlighting that 7,000-8,000 of those breaches occurred in the last 25 years.

Forestry lands amount to 1.5 million dunums, of which 250,000 dunums are bare, 400,000 dunums are natural forests, 500,000 dunums are planted forests and 350,000 are nature reserves, according to the Forestry Department.

MPs also referred the 2015 amendments to the laws on the Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority, higher education institution accreditation, public health, drugs, mineral resources, banks and Central Bank of Jordan to the concerned committees for review.

In response to some MPs’ accusations of a “personal agenda” behind the government’s appointment of Abed Kharabsheh as president of the Audit Bureau and Mustafa Barari as president of the Ombudsman Bureau, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour said the change in positions “was a necessary procedure as part of the good governance principles under which presidents of public agencies should not remain in their posts for long periods”.

In the evening session, deputies elected members of the Legal Committee, while members of the administrative, health and environment, and youth and sports panels were selected by acclamation, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

A committee, according to the House’s Rules of Procedure, is made up of seven to 11 members, and MPs are not allowed to be members of two panels at the same time.

House Speaker Atef Tarawneh adjourned the session until Tuesday and urged the formed committees to meet Monday to elect their chairpersons, vice chairs and rapporteurs, according to Petra.