Reform plans progressing with no delay – Odwan

By Raed Omari

AMMAN – There is no delay in the government’s efforts to handle reform files and the process is progressing according to schedule, a senior official said on Monday.

Addressing media representatives, Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications and Government Spokesperson Taher Odwan indicated that since its inception, the government has been working relentlessly on setting up the necessary strategies and drafting legislation to achieve the envisioned comprehensive reform, pledging that all plans listed in the government’s policy statement will be carried out according to well-defined plans.

“Some individuals, media outlets and several political parties accuse the government of being very slow in implementing its plans,” he said.

Citing the “huge” size of work the government is achieving, he said: “What they [critics] do not know is that in just a one-day meeting, a ministerial team reviewed files of a total of 11,000 employees,” when the taskforce was looking in restructuring the public sector and redefining the civil service salary scale.

The minister noted that the government does not seek to achieve short-term goals nor is it inclined to bring about partial solutions but instead has adopted a comprehensive approach to realise a “real and long-lasting reform that can lead to qualitative leap in the lives of all Jordanians”.

Updating the press on progress in political reform, Odwan noted that the National Dialogue Committee is about to complete its mandate regarding the elections and political parties laws, which he described as the “basic ingredients” of the process.

At a different level, the government will soon complete plans for restructuring state agencies and the national strategy for employment, according to Odwan.

He pointed out that restructuring public sector agencies aims at achieving justice in the salaries of civil servants and giving practitioners of each profession and skill the salary they deserve.

Under the plan, salaries of public sector employees will increase significantly, the minister said. The pay raise will be allocated in the 2012 state budget.

“Such a plan is particularly criticised because it may lead people to prefer working in state-owned agencies more than the private sector,” he said.

He added that by June 1, the government will complete preparations to implement an executive plan of the national strategy for employment, which aims to increase productivity levels, boost small- and medium-sized businesses, enhance vocational and technical training, expand social security coverage and replace guest workers with Jordanians.

In addition, Odwan said the committee entrusted with drawing up the national strategy on media is just a few steps from completing its mission, pointing out the strategy is part of the reform endeavour.

He explained that outlining the new media strategy has required amending a total of 20 pieces of legislation with the aim of expanding the margins of press freedom and promoting a professional and objective press.

Expressing concern over the conduct of some “unprofessional news websites”, Odwan said it is the responsibility of the government and the Jordan Press Association (JPA) to draft the necessary legislation “so as to prevent such irresponsible and biased news agencies from broadcasting sensational, unfounded reports with the aim of tarnishing people’s reputations with no evidence”.

Odwan explained that freedom of press is not synonymous to defamation but has basically to do with professionalism, ethics, fairness, objectivity and neutrality.

The government, the JPA, the judiciary and civil society organisations should step forward to “bring an end to these irresponsible acts by some news websites”, Odwan noted.

“The new strategy does not seek to curb freedom of the press but rather to regulate the media sector and protect people’s reputations,” he said.

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