Gov’t urged not to repeat past mistakes as Senate begins budget debate

AMMAN — The Senate on Tuesday began to debate the draft laws for the 2017 state budget and the budgets of independent government units, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The Upper House’s Finance and Economic Committee’s rapporteur, Senator Umayya Toukan, presented the committee’s report and recommendations on the two bills.

The report contained 20 recommendations and 29 notes on the two draft laws. 

It recommended that the government take decisive action to support vulnerable segments of society and stop financial waste, especially regarding subsidies on commodities, fuel and independent government units. 

The report also suggested that the government should mitigate any negative effects on foreign reserves in the Kingdom, increase tourism income through the promotion of diverse programmes, increase savings programmes targeting Jordanian expatriates and simplify investment measures. 

The committee highlighted government loss of revenues caused by tax evasion and called for an investigation. 

It urged the government to identify the parties involved and said it supports looking into the role of exemptions and whether or not they are useful. 

The report also recommended that the government cooperate with industrial sector representatives to halt its decline. 

 The committee called on the government to present proper recommendations to limit obstacles to Jordanian industry’s competitiveness and to help it enter target markets, especially the European Union, after the deal to simplify rules of origin. 

The Senate committee noted that the government should find solutions to the transport sector’s problems and utilise modern public transport vehicles, which are safe for the public and will ease traffic jams. 

With regards to the energy sector, the report recommended that the government accelerate the completion of electricity generation projects through solar and wind energies and oil shale to reduce power costs.

Regarding the budgets of independent government units, the report said that their net deficit before 2017 was around JD116 million. 

It recommended that the government improve the financial management of independent government units.

The committee  said the government has not done enough to promote tourism in the Kingdom, especially as a safe destination in a turbulent region. 

Although they comprise more than 95 per cent of the companies in the Kingdom, the report noted a consistent lack of funding for small- and medium-sized businesses. 

The committee’s notes also highlighted the problems facing the education sector, in addition to security challenges and the weakness of the public-private partnership. 

The report also highlighted that friendly and donor countries have only delivered on  30 per cent of the promises made at  the 2016 London donor conference. 

There are “large disparities” between what has actually been achieved in terms of economic indications and what is expected under the Kingdom’s 10-year-vision from 2015-2025, the report said. 

It went on to note that steps should urgently be taken to upgrade to a smart government, which will improve services for the public. 

During the session, Senator Ghazi Tayyeb said that even if the deficit is huge, it can be overcome through proper management of the public sector, stopping tax evasion, monitoring tenders and addressing errors in development estates and guest workers’ problems. 

For her part, Senator Haifa Najjar said there is not enough time to thoroughly discuss the budget before endorsing it, noting that there should be a longer consultation period next year.  

Finance Minister Omar Malhas said the government will take the Senate’s recommendations into consideration, stressing the commitment to reduce public expenditure and address the issue of tax evasion.