AMMAN — A “routine session” turned heated on Monday as an MP
lodged allegations regarding the recent blackout that hit the Kingdom.
MP Nidal Al-Hayari said that today’s session was meant to
complete discussions on the anti-money laundering and terrorism financing bill,
which started in April; however, “the intervention of the representative Osama
Al-Ajarmah, and what happened between him and the other MPs disrupted these
discussions.”
اضافة اعلان
After the Parliamentary session, the House’s Energy
Committee held a session with Minister of Energy Hala Zawati to discuss the
Friday power outage, which has been the center of public debate and
controversy.
Lawmaker Zaid Al-Otoum, head of the Energy Committee, told
Jordan News that the “committee will rely in its discussion on reports and
facts from experts, technicians, and specialists, to determine the
repercussions of this outage.”
Otoum added that the committee will study Jordan’s energy
strategy and will work on finding and developing solutions and procedures to
prevent such occurrences in the future. The MP added: “We will present a full
report supported by the experts and technical opinions about what happened, and
mechanisms to prevent it in the future.”
During the session, Zawati blamed the blackout on
“technicalities”. She added that a problem occurred with the power cable that
connects Egypt’s electrical grid with Jordan’s.
“What had happened is
an electrical phenomenon that led, according to the initial analysis, to a
decision to disconnect the station,” Zawati said. “The blackout was caused by a
technical fault that led to an electrical fluctuation in the
Jordanian-Egyptian link line, so the decision was taken to cut it (the power) off.”
Zawati highlighted a phone conversation with her Egyptian
counterpart, where they denied having made any official statements about the
blackout.
Amjad Rawashdeh, the general manager of the National
Electric Power Company (NEPCO), downplayed the incident in remarks to Jordan
News. “Such phenomena are very natural, which may occur anywhere, and many
other countries face such issues,” he said.
During the session, MP Osamah Al-Ajarmah claimed that the
power outage was planned in order to prevent the solidarity marches of the
tribes, which were called to support Palestine.
The speaker of the Lower House adjourned the session shortly
after due to Ajarmah’s comments.
According to Emad Odwan, a parliamentary memorandum was
signed by more than 20 deputies to refer Ajarmah to the House’s Conduct
Committee for his behavior under the Dome. Odwan said that Ajarmah told him
“the insults were unintentional”.
Khalil Atyeh told Jordan News that MP Ajarmah apologized to
the representatives, and added that he will issue an apology.
The lawmakers’ efforts to discuss the anti-money laundering
and terrorism financing bill were interrupted and overshadowed by the
discussion of the Friday blackout.
MP Omar Al-Ayasrah told Jordan News that the “most notable
part of the legislative discussion was about suggestions to scrap the term
‘weapons of mass destruction’ mentioned in the bill.”
Ayasrah added that “these suggestions are important because
Jordan is not concerned with this issue, also it is none of our interest to
start a hostility with any other country.”
Over the past legislative period, the committee has held
meetings with legal experts and stakeholders who provided input. Lawmakers are
set to continue discussions on Wednesday. The session was headed by
Lower House Speaker Abd Monem Oudat.
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