Finance minister delivers draft budget law speech to Parliament

Shaheennews –

Minister of Finance Izzeddin Kanakrieh Tuesday delivered a speech on the 2019 general budget and the budgets of the government units at the Lower House to Parliament.

“Despite being in a chaotic region, Jordan’s economy is sound and fit to grow and was capable to develop a tolerance to surrounding repercussions”, the minister told the session and referred to Standard & Poor’s credit rating for Jordan which affirmed it at (B+) with a “stable” outlook due to a number of domestic and regional factors.

In the speech, the minister cited various domestic and foreign conditions and developments and their social ramifications that prompted the government to draw up an action program for the next two years within the framework of national rejuvenation project. Consequently, the government set priorities that have direct impact on citizens welfare before implementing them with the available funding.

The national economy has suffered from a slowdown in growth and had also been vulnerable to developments witnessed recently in the Middle East, as preliminary data showed that the real economic growth will stand at 2 percent, creeping towards 2.3 percent in 2019. However the government purposeful endeavors to stimulate economic growth pursue to realize higher growth rates which requires a speed up to the rhythm of structural reforms, take into account setting priorities with utmost care and create employment opportunities.

One of the main impediments constraining financial and economic policies is the high public debt levels. Accordingly, reducing the ratio of total debt to gross national income was among the leading objectives that would effectively contribute to enhancing Jordan’s creditworthiness status and investment potential on world stage, the minister stated.

Improvement and enhancement, Kanakrieh went on, go beyond figures and data to reviewing legislations, policies and methodologies and the capacity to shape them “in a manner” where they could handle today’s changing world.