jordan’s king calls for selfreliance to overcome challenges
Last Updated : GMT 05:17:37
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
Last Updated : GMT 05:17:37
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice

Jordan’s king calls for self-reliance to overcome challenges

Emiratesvoice, emirates voice

Emiratesvoice, emirates voice Jordan’s king calls for self-reliance to overcome challenges

Jordan’s King Abdallah
Amman - Emirates Voice

Jordan’s King Abdallah on Sunday urged the government and Parliament to be self-reliant.
“No one will solve our problems but us,” he said in a speech as he opened the winter session of Jordan’s 18th Parliament in Amman.
“We must harness our will, potential and energy to confidently and resolutely take on the challenges before us.”
Former Finance Minister Muhammad Abu Hammour told Arab News that the king’s “emphasis on self-reliance is an honest attempt to raise awareness about our difficulties, as unemployment is reaching 18 percent and the horizon for outside help is narrowing.”
Abu Hammour said the current deficit needs to be addressed by reducing capital spending and searching for internal revenue.
“Most of the spending in terms of salaries and retirement costs can’t be touched. This leaves capital expenditures, which will have to be cut back, but this will have a negative long-term effect,” he added.
Abu Hammour said revenue needs to increase by removing subsidies: “We need to stop subsidies that benefit non-Jordanians, while providing a safety net for the poor through direct cash support.”
Abu Hammour, now CEO of the Safwa Islamic Bank, added that the recently established Gulf Investment Fund needs to be energized, and that the international community must help Jordan with its refugee burden.
Jordan “continues to be burdened with costs that it has no control over. How can we become self-reliant when donor countries only provide us with 40 percent of what we need to cover the cost of serving refugees?” he said.
“When we have to cover the remaining 60 percent from the state coffers, this leave a big burden that can’t be easily erased.”
Aqel Biltaji, chairman of the board of Abdali Investment and Development PSC, told Arab News: “When you have 850,000 foreign laborers while half a million of your own citizens are without a job, something is wrong.”
Biltaji, former mayor of Amman and former tourism minister, said Jordanians need to learn to take on all kinds of jobs.
“Why don’t Jordanians go to the Jordan Valley and work there? Why do we depend on so many laborers to do various jobs in housing, agriculture and tourism?”
Biltaji called for a revolution in attitudes toward work and the education curriculum, saying: “Many industrial countries employ more than 85 percent of their population in various vocations. Why do we all want to limit ourselves to desk jobs?”
Former Culture Minister Sabri Rbeihat told Arab News: “I applaud the call for self-reliance, but it must start at the official level. We need to reduce our bloated government payroll and live within our means.”
He added: “We have so many governmental institutions that we don’t need, and many that aren’t even held accountable by anyone. Before we ask the public to change attitudes, we need to see leadership from the government in this area.”
Rbeihat also questioned the water policies that restrict digging wells, saying there are successful farms on Israel’s side of the Wadi Araba but no development on Jordan’s side.
“People hear names of individuals who are accused of corruption, yet nothing happens to them,” he added.
“They see Jordanians with lots of money choosing not to invest in Jordan and taking their money outside, and they notice the large tax evasion. This is demoralizing, and doesn’t help the public agree to austerity measures and to become self-reliant

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

jordan’s king calls for selfreliance to overcome challenges jordan’s king calls for selfreliance to overcome challenges

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

jordan’s king calls for selfreliance to overcome challenges jordan’s king calls for selfreliance to overcome challenges

 



GMT 09:54 2018 Wednesday ,24 January

'Friendly and kind' N. Korean skaters

GMT 07:16 2018 Thursday ,18 January

Macron's tapestry gesture risks rousing

GMT 23:45 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

Europe in the pink of health, feels Bjorn

GMT 16:03 2017 Friday ,05 May

Ban on Omani foods

GMT 03:07 2017 Saturday ,30 September

Facebook helps UAE resident reunite with brother

GMT 00:05 2017 Wednesday ,15 November

Deadly heat from climate change may hit slums hardest

GMT 10:18 2016 Thursday ,27 October

Sharjah Book Fair’s Professional Programme attracts

GMT 13:56 2012 Sunday ,21 October

King Mohammed VI Gulf tour

GMT 19:28 2017 Sunday ,12 March

Carlos the Jackal faces trial again in France

GMT 05:55 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

US tax reforms send UBS profits plunging

GMT 06:01 2018 Saturday ,20 January

How to take a bullet, by 'Den of Thieves' star 50 Cent

GMT 23:50 2018 Thursday ,18 January

1.5 C climate goal 'very unlikely' but doable

GMT 08:42 2018 Wednesday ,17 January

Was preparing new version of 'Zombie'

GMT 13:06 2018 Tuesday ,16 January

The London Fashion Agency relaunches as LFA

GMT 14:17 2017 Friday ,03 February

Facing Trump trade threats, Mexico eyes new partners

GMT 10:33 2017 Thursday ,28 December

Putin files nomination for 2018 re-election bid

GMT 08:01 2017 Tuesday ,21 November

China's Tencent overtakes Facebook

GMT 10:15 2017 Tuesday ,21 November

US-Saudi warplanes hit Sanaa

GMT 07:42 2010 Wednesday ,15 September

Global regulators agree on tougher Basel III bank rules
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
 
 Emirates Voice Facebook,emirates voice facebook  Emirates Voice Twitter,emirates voice twitter Emirates Voice Rss,emirates voice rss  Emirates Voice Youtube,emirates voice youtube  Emirates Voice Youtube,emirates voice youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

emiratesvoieen emiratesvoiceen emiratesvoiceen emiratesvoiceen
emiratesvoice emiratesvoice emiratesvoice
emiratesvoice
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
emiratesvoice, Emiratesvoice, Emiratesvoice