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AMMAN — Minister of Political and Parliamentary Affairs Khaled Kalaldeh on Monday testified in a case involving Sama Jordan Television station at the Amman Court of First Instance.

The minister filed a lawsuit against the channel for broadcasting a news item stating that “workers at Kalaldeh’s factory have not paid fees to the Ministry of Justice”.

 Kalaldeh told the court that he does not own any factory and that he is a doctor with a private practice.

The station’s lawyer, Khaled Khleifat, told the court that the channel broadcast another item saying that the minister was not the person involved in that piece of news.

DEAD SEA — A series of multibillion projects to generate oil from oil shale and build oil shale-fuelled electricity plants will start operation in the next few years, relieving the country’s rising energy bill that accounts for 20 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product, officials said Monday.

Jordan, which signed several agreements and memoranda of understanding with key international companies with decades-long experience in oil shale to utilise its 70-billion-tonne reserve of oil shale, will be one of the countries contributing to producing oil from oil shale, especially since some 5.7 million barrels of oil are expected to be produced from oil shale per day by 2035, they said.

One of the projects is by Enefit, a joint Estonian-Malaysian consortium, which is expected to produce 553 megawatts of power through an oil shale-fuelled power plant. The $2 billion power plant is expected to be operational in 2017.

“The government is currently in the process of negotiating the price to buy electricity from the plant and connect it to the national grid,” Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Mohammad Hamed told The Jordan Times Monday on the sidelines of the International Oil Shale Symposium 2014.

“We expect to give Enefit our response by the end of next week,” said the minister.

Sandor Liive, CEO of Enefit, expressed hope that the government will speed up the process.

“Agreeing on the price is very important. Once we agree with the government on the price, a power purchase agreement [PPA] will be signed after which construction of the power plant will start. We cannot do anything without signing this agreement. We have already selected the contractor to build the plant and secured financing. What is left is signing the PPA,” Liive told during the event, which attracted officials and representatives in the field from several countries.

Another major agreement to produce oil from oil shale is one with the Jordan Oil Shale Co., which is wholly owned by Shell, said the minister, adding that the company is expected to continue the assessment phase for three years. After that, it will decide on whether to proceed with the development phases, he said.

The company will carry out an experiment by the end of this year to produce oil from oil shale, he added.

Speaking at the event, Musa Zyoud, director general of the Natural Resources Authority, said a group of Chinese, UAE and Jordanian companies showed interest in building a 900-megawatt oil shale-fuelled power plant, adding that it is expected to be operational in 2017.

In terms of producing oil from oil shale, Zyoud said the Karak International Oil company is scheduled to start producing 15,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil from oil shale in 2017 and will go up to 50,000bpd in 2020.

“The government is keen on supporting all projects in this field,” said Zyoud, adding that Jordan is home to about 70 billion metric tonnes of oil shale, making the Kingdom the fourth largest country in the world in terms of oil shale reserves.

Noting that Jordan will be one of the pioneering and leading countries in the region in terms of implementing oil shale projects, Hisham Khatib, deputy chairman of the World Energy Council, said production of oil globally stands at about 80 million bpd at present. However, the world’s consumption of oil reached 105 million bpd in 2013 and conventional oil production cannot be increased to more than 85 million bpd, he said.

“Oil shale will be one of the main resources that will be used for producing oil,” he said. 

The challenges and opportunities in Jordan’s oil shale drive were scheduled to be discussed during the two-day event. 

AMMAN — Water Minister Hazem Nasser on Monday said that the ministry and Site Group Company for Services signed an agreement to dig 15 wells in the northern region to address the rising demand on water as a resulted of the Syrian refugee influx.

The German Development Bank (KfW) will fund the projects which will cost around 4 million euros.

AMMAN — Art specialists and workers at the Greater Amman Municipality will draw up a plan to be implemented within two weeks to ensure that the historical passageway at the King Hussein Park, serves the goals set for it.

During a visit to the passageway on Monday, HRH Princess Wijdan, president of the Royal Society of Fine Arts, and Amman Mayor Aqel Biltaji agreed to entrust a specialised work group with the task.

Checking the murals and carved works of art in the 400-metre-long historical passageway, they called for utilising art to highlight Jordan’s history and the different civilisations that lived across the Kingdom.

AMMAN — Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh on Monday met separately with the Omani and Indonesian ambassadors to Jordan, Khamis Al Farisi and Teguh Wardoyo.

During the meetings, Tarawneh discussed issues of mutual concern, the latest developments in the region and ways to boost parliamentary relations.

Farisi praised the democratic and reform process in the Kingdom, while Wardoyo expressed his country’s appreciation of Jordan’s efforts in defending national and Islamic issues, especially its role in the Palestinian issue and hosting huge numbers of refugees.

AMMAN — A recent poll to measure public opinion over the performance of the government has shown that more Jordanians believe that their country is on the right track, compared to a previous study conducted in October.

The survey, carried out between March 22 and 27 by the Centre for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan, polled 1,800 Jordanians over the age of 18 and a smaller group of 700 “opinion leaders” made up of political figures, academics and journalists.

The results, which had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5, showed that 42 per cent of the national sample and 55 per cent of opinion leaders agreed that the country is moving in the right direction.

This poll reflects a slight shift in citizens’ opinion as in the previous poll held in October, only 29 per cent of the national sample agreed that the country was on the right track, citing issues concerning Jordan’s security, stability and state of justice. In the same poll, 42 per cent of opinion leaders voiced their satisfaction in the government’s performance, citing reasons surrounding its implementation of the required political reforms and wise approach in handling the current stage of political developments.

However, the “deteriorating” economic situation that includes higher inflation rates, corruption, favouritism, a slow political development process, and weak economic and political planning were listed as top factors that led 53 per cent of the national sample and 38 per cent of the opinion leaders to vote that the country is on the wrong track.     

With regards to confidence in the government’s ability to carry out its tasks, 49 per cent of the national sample polled in the latest survey voiced approval. The poll also showed that citizens’ confidence in Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour was at 50 per cent, with 44 per cent also voicing similar confidence in the ability of Cabinet members. 

Meanwhile, 57 per cent of opinion leaders voiced confidence in the government, with 63 per cent stating that the premier was able to carry out his duties and 49 per cent of them approving of the Cabinet members’ abilities.

These results showed a slight rise in public confidence in the head of the government and his team, compared to the figures registered in October last year, when 45 per cent of the national sample expressed confidence in the government’s ability, with 52 per cent of opinion leaders believing that the government was doing a good job in handling the current stage.

However, 57 per cent of the national sample said their current economic situation is worse than it was 12 months ago. When asked about the future, 26 per cent expected the economic situation to improve in the next year, with 24 per cent of those polled believing there would be no change, and 45 per cent saying it would become worse. 

In general, only 18 per cent of the national sample agreed that the country’s economic situation has improved in the past year, with 61 per cent saying it is worse and 20 per cent stating that there is no change.

AMMAN — A delegation from the Yemeni Cabinet is currently visiting Jordan to become acquainted with the Prime Ministry’s departments and its administrative work.

Minister of State Salameh Neimat on Monday met the delegates and stressed Jordan’s readiness to provide them with the needed administrative expertise.

The delegation’s visit is in line with an executive programme of the cooperation protocol signed between the Jordanian and Yemeni Cabinets in 2007.

AMMAN — Jordan and the US have agreed on the terms and conditions of issuing government bonds in US dollar in New York after completing the legal requirements for the issuance, a senior official has said. 

After discussions in Washington, on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Spring Meetings, Minister of Finance Umayya Toukan on Monday told the Jordan News Agency, Petra, that Jordan reached an initial agreement with the US Department of Treasury, which will be officially signed in Amman late April.
USAID will sign the deal on behalf of the US government, the minister said.

The bonds are guaranteed by the US government, which secures Jordan low-cost financing and eases the pressure on local banks. 

The guarantee process was set in motion by President Barack Obama in March 2013, when he visited Jordan. He noted then that a US guarantee, “can help deliver the results that Jordanians deserve… to see their schools better, their roads improved, healthcare, clean water all enhanced”.

On October 31, 2013, the Kingdom closed on its offering of a $1.25 billion sovereign bond issuance.

Toukan described Washington’s approval of the planned issuance “a strong message of support from the US to Jordan” that will enable the government to finance current and capital expenditures. 

He also said borrowing under the bond offering will be 2.5 per cent lower than the cost of loans from local creditors, let alone that it will enhance liquidity at banks and thus ease borrowing for the local private sector.

The minister said the Jordanian side discussed with the US officials the economic reforms under way in Jordan, outlining the latest achievements and efforts to boost economic growth, noting that foreign reserve levels are now growing to reach the 2010 level of $12.5 billion.

Toukan confirmed the IMF executive board of directors will meet by the end of April to endorse a new payment of around $264 million after its mission to Jordan wrapped up its latest review. 

The minister stressed the importance of these IMF revisions, since they are a key condition by the Department of Treasury to secure the Eurobonds that the Jordanian government will sell on the international market in US dollars. 

AMMAN — Dozens of unemployed Maan residents brought their two-year-old protest movement to Amman on Monday, demanding that the government end their search for jobs opportunities.

Over 60 jobless residents of the southern city made the 200-kilometre trip to the capital to protest in front of Parliament against what they called the government’s “failure” to live up to promises to create employment opportunities for area residents.

During the one-hour rally, participants chanted “Employment is our legal right” and “Bread, freedom, we demand social justice.”

Protesters also called for expanding the scope of vocational training programmes to encourage private and public sector hiring in the governorate, where unemployment hovers around 20 per cent, nearly double the 11.8 per cent national average. 

According to Rashad Al Khatab, head of the so-called Maan unemployed committee, Monday’s rally was the “first step” in a new strategy to draw greater attention to their cause after holding near-daily protests in the southern city for over the past two years.

“The Kingdom’s largest resources such as phosphate and cement are all located near Maan, yet the people are not benefiting from this,” Khatab said. 

“If the government believes we will go away quietly it is very wrong.”

According to activists and officials, successive governments promised to secure jobs for over 300 area residents who had either graduated from public universities or were laid off by recently privatised industries in 2012 and 2013.

As of Monday, 50 of the original 300 had been secured employment, while activists claim that the total number of jobless Maanis who joined their cause has since eclipsed 500.

Maan residents said they will continue their protests at various sites across the capital.

Over one quarter, some 26.6 per cent, of Maanis currently live below the poverty line, according to various studies by public universities and the Department of Statistics.

AMMAN — The Ministry of Agriculture on Monday started distributing the second batch of olive saplings to farmers in Ajloun Governorate to compensate for trees damaged during last December’s blizzard.

A total of 10,000 olive saplings will be distributed to farmers in the northern governorate to help them cope with losses they incurred as a result of the snowstorm, Agriculture Ministry Spokesperson Nimer Haddadin said.

Ajloun’s olive groves and vineyards sustained severe damage as a result of a blizzard that hit the Kingdom in mid-December. The governorate, located 70km north of Amman, is one of the highest places in the Kingdom and was the most affected by the snowstorm, dubbed Alexa, with accumulated snow reaching over 70 centimetres.

“Some 10,000 olive saplings of the best types were distributed to the farmers in Ajloun in February this year. The saplings are dispensed free of charge,” Haddadin told The Jordan Times.

The ministry also distributed free olive saplings to farmers in Irbid Governorate, 80km north of Amman, earlier this year, he added.

The saplings, produced at Al Faisal Nursery in Ajloun, are being planted under the supervision of specialised staff at the ministry to ensure their survival and sustainability, according to Haddadin.

The blizzard dealt a “strong blow” to Jordan’s forestry sector, according to officials and conservationists, who said more than 20,000 trees were uprooted and hundreds of thousands of branches were broken.

In the Ajloun Forest Reserve, which extends over 12,000 dunums, a total of 1,047 trees, making up 20 per cent of the reserve’s green cover, were broken, while in Jerash Governorate, 48 kilometres north of Amman, more than 12,237 forest trees were uprooted in the Dibbeen Nature Reserve.

Illegal logging during winter, wildfires in summer and insufficient rain due to climate change are the main threats to Jordan’s shrinking green cover, which stands at less than 1 per cent of the country’s total landscape, according to experts.