King meets heads of governorate councils
Shaheennews-
His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday stressed the importance of advancing the decentralisation project and carrying out a holistic assessment to enhance the positive aspects and overcome impediments that governorate councils face.
During a meeting held at Al Husseiniya Palace and attended by Prime Minister Omar Razzaz, King Abdullah noted that the goal of decentralisation is to give citizens a greater role in development-related decisions, improve services, and fairly distribute development gains.
His Majesty said the impact of decentralisation, one year later, should be measured by assessing the quality of services provided to citizens.
After listening to a briefing by the heads of governorate councils on the main challenges they face, the King said the government must work with members and heads of governorate councils to revise the Decentralisation Law in order to achieve the envisioned goals.
His Majesty stressed the importance of reaching out to local communities to further instil active citizenship and identify their development needs to provide better services.
The King noted that the economic challenge is Jordanians’ biggest concern, but work is underway in line with set plans and strategies to attract and distribute investments to the governorates, which will improve economic conditions and create job opportunities.
Speaking at the meeting, Prime Minister Razzaz pointed to the importance of improving decentralisation to translate His Majesty’s vision in making governorate councils the main entities concerned with development efforts.
The prime minister expressed optimism over the decentralisation process, noting the presence of leaders in the field who can draw up development plans and offer practical solutions.
Prime Minister Razzaz noted that the government would revisit the Decentralisation Law, based on its ongoing discussions with governorate councils, and study the challenges that the councils face, including project funding.
For their part, the heads of governorate councils stressed the importance of amending the Decentralisation Law to grant councils more executive jurisdiction and tools to implement their decisions.
They also called for expanding the role of governorate councils to include attracting investments based on each governorate’s development needs and advantages.
Royal Hashemite Court Chief Yousef Issawi, Adviser to His Majesty and Director of the Office of His Majesty Manar Dabbas, Minister of Political and Parliamentary Affairs Musa Maaytah, and Minister of Interior Samir Mubaideen attended the meeting.
