Gov’t seeks WB support to address public sector reform

AMMAN — Jordan on Thursday called on the World Bank (WB) to support its plans to reform the public sector.

The request was raised during a meeting between Prime Minister Hani Mulki and World Bank Vice President for the Middle East and North Africa Hafez Ghanem.

Mulki said that the government is concerned with reforming the public sector, enhancing good governance and automating and restructuring government procedures, so as to eliminate bureaucracy that hinders achievements, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The government activated the Public-Private Sectors Partnership Law in implementing strategic public projects, such as the Tafileh Public Hospital, the planned Amman customs centre project in Madouneh and a project for developing King Hussein Bridge, the premier noted.

He added that the educational system in the Kingdom needs development, especially as it suffers crowded classrooms in all branches, with focus on the vocational stream due to its importance in plans to address unemployment among the youth.

For his part, Ghanem highlighted the partnership between the WB and Jordan in implementing development programmes.

He also noted that the WB launched a regional initiative two years ago to enhance competitiveness and reform educational systems in the Middle East and North Africa region. 

The WB official praised the level of cooperation between the Kingdom’s public and private sectors in implementing mega projects, citing as a success story the new terminal of the Queen Alia International Airport that boosted the competitiveness of the facility and upgraded the quality of services provided to passengers.