Российско-Иорданский Деловой Совет

New government sworn in

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By Hani Hazaimeh

AMMAN – The new 29-member government sworn in before His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday is the 72nd in the country’s history and the seventh since the King ascended to the Throne.

The new government is made up of 16 new ministers and 13 who served in the previous government; of these, Khalid Irani switched portfolios, becoming minister of energy and mineral resources instead of environment, and two of the four women stayed on. A new post was created, that of minister of state for mega-projects.

The Monarch on Wednesday named Samir Rifai as the new prime minister, succeeding Nader Dahabi.

In his Letter of Designation, the King instructed Rifai to form a Cabinet that will build on Jordan’s achievements and address shortcomings through an institutional programme based on a clear agenda with performance indicators “that ensure the translation of our vision of reform into reality”.

Emphasising his commitment to continuing the process of reform and modernisation, the King said the formation of the new Cabinet must be inspired by a seamless work plan that identifies specific objectives in every sector and defines timelines for the implementation and achievement of these objectives.

“Ministers should be chosen according to the criteria of competence, efficiency and commitment to the priorities of the next phase, the conditions confronting this phase and the practical plans for implementation,” said the Monarch in the letter.

In his letter to the King yesterday, Rifai conveyed his commitment to adhere to the King’s directives, stressing that the new government will perform in a transparent manner.

The premier pledged to have a Cabinet that works as one harmonious team, with clear vision and plans, within a time frame and transparently, to live up to the confidence placed in it by His Majesty. He also said that decisions will be taken based on a scientific methodology within the confines of the Constitution and the laws of the land.

Rifai said appeasement and hesitation will be alien to the new government’s dictionary, adding that decisions will be made by taking into account the interests of the country and the future of its people. He also said that “all that leads to a waste of time, effort and energy is an affront to the country’s interests.”

The new Cabinet members were selected based on merit and efficiency, and on their acceptance to comply with the priorities, plans and work methodology, Rifai said, adding that every new minister knows what is expected of him/her and is aware of the criteria that will be used to evaluate his/her service to the public.

“As per the directives of Your Majesty, each minister will present his work plan and programmes for implementation within 40 days… the Council of Ministers will discuss and adopt these plans in a comprehensive work programme in order to be submitted to Your Majesty…,” the premier said, adding that their agendas will be used to assess government performance and achievements.

King Abdullah instructed the prime minister to issue a code of conduct based on the Constitution and the laws that makes clear the moral and legal criteria the ministers must be committed to throughout their public service.

“This document will be a public document and an additional reference for Jordanians in judging the performance of the ministerial team,” the King said.

Rifai acknowledged that the code of conduct will be based on existing legislation and will guide all ethical and legal issues the ministers will deal with.

“I will instruct all ministers to sign this document, which will become an additional point of reference for Jordanians to judge the performance of the government,” the prime minister said.

King Abdullah, who dissolved the Lower House in late November and asked the government to amend the country’s controversial Elections Law in order to hold elections “not later than the last quarter of 2010”, said parliamentary elections “constitute a major step in developing our democratic performance and strengthening public participation in the political development process”.

“The government will implement Your Majesty’s directives to take all measures to ensure that the upcoming parliamentary elections will be a model of integrity, transparency and impartiality and will ensure that the amendments to be made to the current Elections Law will meet Your Majesty’s vision of an active Parliament capable of performing its constitutional obligations decisively and responsibly,” the premier said.

Rifai also promised that the measures taken will ensure that elections mark a quantum leap in the process of modernisation and development, will enable Jordanians to vote and run for election freely and fairly, and that the executive and legislative authorities will perform their duties through genuine partnership that serves the national interests.

Rifai said the government will refer its respective recommendations with regard to the decentralisation plan, which will ensure qualitative developments in the decision-making process.

He also said the government’s relationship with the media will be based on an open-channel policy and respect for their role and their right to be independent and free, adding that his Cabinet will work towards “ending malpractice and extortion committed in pursuit of popularity”.

“The government will issue a code of conduct to regulate the relation between the media and various public institutions, which will also decide the criteria for posting advertisements in and subscribing to media outlets… in order to encourage an independent and professional media and curtail relations based on personal interests, which hurts the community and media credibility,” he said.

Earlier in the day, His Majesty received the outgoing government, thanking former premier Dahabi and his Cabinet for their performance and achievements and commending them for having worked seriously in service of the country.

Following are the members of Prime Minister Samir Rifai’s Cabinet, sworn-in before His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday:

• Samir Rifai: Prime Minister and Minister of Defence

• Rajai Muasher: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State

• Nayef Qadi: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior

• Abdul Salam Abbadi: Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs

• Tawfiq Kreishan: Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs

• Nasser Judeh: Minister of Foreign Affairs

• Walid Maani: Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research

• Mohammad Abu Hammour: Minister of Finance

• Nabil Sharif: Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications

• Khalid Irani: Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources

• Maha Khatib: Minister of Tourism and Antiquities

• Hala Lattouf: Minister of Social Development

• Amer Hadidi: Minister of Industry and Trade

• Alaa Batayneh: Minister of Transport

• Ayman Odeh: Minister of Justice

• Nayef Fayez: Minister of Health

• Musa Maaytah: Minister of Political Development

• Saeed Masri: Minister of Agriculture

• Nabih Shuqum: Minister of Culture

• Imad Fakhoury: Minister of Public Sector Development and Minister of State for Mega-Projects

• Ali Ghezawi: Minister of Municipal Affairs

• Jaafar Hassan: Minister of Planning and International Cooperation

• Jamal Shamayleh: Minister of State for Prime Ministry Affairs

• Ibrahim Badran: Minister of Education

• Ibrahim Omoush: Minister of Labour

• Mohammad Najjar: Minister of Water and Irrigation

• Mohammad Obeidat: Minister of Public Works and Housing

• Marwan Juma: Minister of Information and Communications Technology

• Hazem Malhas: Minister of Environment

jordantimes

Russian-Arabic Business Council

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