Municipalities’ debts to SSC down by 79%

AMMAN – Municipalities owe the Social Security Department (SSC) only JD4 million in unpaid subscription fees after dues went down from JD19 million last year, SSC Spokesperson Musa Sbeihi told The Jordan Times Tuesday. 

Sbeihi said in a phone interview that the value of debts declined after Zarqa Municipality, which was the largest indebted entity, and the SSC reached a debt swap agreement under which 32 dunums of land in the city of Zarqa owned by the municipality were sold to the corporation few weeks ago. 

The municipality used to owe the SSC around JD10 million, he noted. 

Sbeihi said that the corporation has frequently advised municipalities to pay subscription fees for their employees on a monthly basis to avoid debt accumulation, but the advice was not heeded. 

The spokesperson indicated that the corporation and the state-owned Cities and Villages Development Bank (CVDB) are cooperating in the field of unpaid financial dues owed by municipalities to bring down their debts. 

He cited a 2014 agreement between the two institutions, under which CVDB agreed to bail out financially troubled municipalities by paying JD16.5 million. 

Sbeihi said that private sector establishments currently owe the corporation tens of millions of dinars in unpaid subscription fees, indicating that there are around 15 companies that owe the SSC over JD1 million each in unpaid fees for their employees.