Gov’t to present policy statement to Lower House in first week of 2021 ­— Ayed

AMMAN — The government is planned to present its policy statement to the Lower House in the first week of the new year, Minister of State for Media Affairs Ali Ayed said on Friday.

During an interview with Jordan TV's "60 Minutes" programme, Ayed said that the statement is based on His Majesty King Abdullah’s Letter of Designation and the Speech from the Throne, noting that the government’s plan includes several issues that Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Bisher Al Khasawneh will present to MPs.

As for the Jordanian state’s centennial, the minister stressed that Jordan has a long history and enjoys “deep-rooted and important” institutions, adding that the Kingdom has proven itself in the “darkest” of circumstances, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Regarding the achievements of the current government approaching the 100th day since its formation, he said that the government was formed in exceptional circumstances that required it to be a “government of tasks”.

Ayed added that the epidemiological condition in the Kingdom required the government to work on increasing the capacity of hospitals to deal with the pandemic through establishing four field hospitals in Amman, Irbid, Maan and Aqaba, two of which have been inaugurated recently, in addition to the rental of a private hospital for extra beds.

The minister, who is also the government spokesperson, said that the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army is building three hospitals to be soon completed, noting that the government has appointed more than 2,500 doctors and nurses to provide hospitals with the necessary medical staff to deal with the pandemic.

He also expressed the government’s commitment to resuming the disbursement of allowances and bonuses of the public sector and military employees as of January 1.

The government spokesperson said that the government is scheduled to announce new procedures to deal with the pandemic next week, pointing out that these measures will be gradual and dependent on the epidemiological situation in the country.

He also stressed that the Pfizer vaccine will arrive in the Kingdom by mid-January, stressing the government’s readiness to receive the vaccine that will be given first to the elderly, medical staff and those with weak immunity.