Gov’t to cover due tender costs from 2018 if councils commit to 2019 budget — official

AMMAN — Governorate councils are excluded from the government decision to trim off 10 per cent of the capital budget of all ministries and government departments, Majdi Shuraiki, director of the General Budget Department, said on Thursday.

Prime Minister Omar Razzaz has directed to exclude the councils from the budget cut decision, reaffirming the government’s commitments to all 2019 decentralisation projects, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Payouts on financial claims will not affect the government’s pledges pertaining to the projects listed on the 2019 general budget, Shuraiki reaffirmed.

The finance minister has directed the General Budget Department to help governorate councils write off their payables and liabilities from 2018 without delay, he stressed.

The government will cover all due tender costs through written pledges, but 2019 projects and all future tenders must be completely covered out of the council’s budgets, Shuraiki added.

In the meantime, the government is looking into projects that are ready for implementation, in terms of studies, in order to ensure that allocations go to projects that are most likely to be implemented within the year, he concluded.