Gov’t announces fourth economic incentive bundle

AMMAN — More than 50 per cent of the government's capital spending in 2019 will go to the education, health and transport sectors, Prime Minister Omar Razzaz said on Tuesday. 

Razzaz made the remarks while announcing the fourth executive packages to improve the national economy.

The premier said that the first three packages cannot be sustainable without improving the quality of education, health and transport sectors, noting that many Jordanian families are not covered by health insurance and that public transport should serve all segments of society, "not only those without cars".

"The implementation of the first three packages are producing tangible results," the premier said, explaining that apartment sales have increased by 34 per cent from the announcement of the first package in October 21 until December 19. 

The sales of lands also increased by 48 per cent in the same period Razzaz said, adding that sales of vehicles have also increased. 

The aim of the fourth package is to improve the livelihood and wellbeing of citizens and improve the quality of services, he said.

“Jordan spends 8.12 per cent on health, which is more than the global average of 6.6 per cent,” Razzaz said, adding that spending on education and transport is also sufficient. 

One of the biggest challenges in the education sector is kindergarten, the premier said, adding that the government will cooperate with all concerned agencies to provide kindergarten education to every place in the Kingdom.

“The government will also ensure that no Jordanian citizen is deprived of comprehensive health insurance or public transport services.” 

In October, the government announced its comprehensive programme comprising four packages: Stimulating the economy and investments, management and financial reform, improving citizens’ livelihoods and improving services comprehensively.

The first package provided incentives in the real-estate sector, focused on boosting exports and production and introduced measures to improve labour and employment for Jordanians.

The second package lowered taxes on electric cars, removed the vehicle weight tax, reduced and controlled government purchases and resolved bureaucracy issues.

The third package focused on increasing the salaries of employees and pension of retirees in the public sector and the military.