AMMAN— Minister
of Government Communication Faisal Shboul Thursday said the latest meetings
between the government and House Representatives were focused on the public
financial situation, noting that Jordan's annual budget is about JOD11.4
billion, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.
He said
Jordan is committed to paying JOD1.3 billion as interest on the loans
accumulated, adding, "we are living in difficult economic conditions; Its
difficulty was further exacerbated by the repercussions of the COVID-19
pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian crisis."
In an
interview with Jordanian TV, Shboul said the draft budget law for the fiscal
year 2023 is with the parliament, adding that MPs know budget figures,
expenditures and revenues.
He noted
that the total revenues from taxes, including grants from the US and the EU,
are JOD9 billion, explaining that 70% of the budget is to pay salaries and
pensions.
Shboul
explained that inflation figures are at their lowest in Jordan due to the
government's measures that began before the Ukrainian-Russian war with customs
procedures and a reduction in the price hikes of staples.
He indicated
that fuel prices were fixed late last year, and the price of some fuel
materials was fixed from the beginning of February and the end of April 2022,
when they were at their highest levels.
"We are
facing a budget in which there is capital and support for sectors and
commodities: JOD277 million to support foodstuffs, including bread,"
Shboul said, adding that a ton of wheat has gone up after the Ukrainian-Russian
crisis from $280 to $507.
On strikers,
Shboul said that communication between the government, shipping companies and truck
owners has not stopped, noting that the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of
Transport and the Transport Regulatory Authority are in contact with strikers
"out of a common national sense."
He said
people have the right to choose not to work, but forcing others to stop their
work or attacking means of transport such as trucks and buses, some of them
tourist, is "not permissible," referring to incidents where strikers
attacked others who would not join the strike.
"No one
has the right to harm others and the supply chains that were not interrupted
even at the height of the COVID-19 crisis, and it is not permissible for the
accumulation of goods to continue in the port of Aqaba although the road has
been secured yesterday and today to and from Aqaba, and the flow of goods is
improving," he said.اضافة اعلان
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