In any reading of the literature related to His Majesty King Abdullah’s reform efforts, including his remarks at local and international arenas, we find that the language is utterly consistent and genuine about the vision, the process, and the end goal.
اضافة اعلان
In every meeting His Majesty holds with national figures and local community leaders, the talk of reform is a fixture, with the King emphasizing every time that the future Jordan aspires to, lies in a modernization process that encompasses all elements.
At a recent meeting held with former prime ministers and ministers, the second of its kind in a matter of weeks, King Abdullah said that “modernizing the political system is part of a package of reforms that also encompasses the administrative and economic sectors, and requires hard work and collective efforts to achieve tangible results.” In the same meeting, His Majesty underlined the need to “build on what has been achieved to implement comprehensive programs that promote the public’s engagement in decision-making.”
Based on these statements, it is evident that the King, in his wisdom, realizes that the citizen is the ultimate goal of the reform process and his/her satisfaction with outputs is the key criterion of evaluation and success.
We need to acknowledge that it is highly necessary to create that connection between the public and efforts aimed at reforming political life. That is why King Abdullah always encourages the personalities he meets to play a part in the promotion of reform programs, highlighting the “statesmen’s important role in encouraging Jordanians’ political and partisan engagement, in order to ensure the success of political modernization,” due to their broad and deep experiences in public work and politics.
Yes: Political reform is surely indispensable, but it is part of a comprehensive modernization process. His Majesty’s emphasis on the vitality of administrative reform, during his first meeting with the former premiers and ministers, indicates his belief that reform should be inclusive of all aspects of public life. And that’s totally true and meaningful.
In the abovementioned meeting, he told the former senior officials that “administrative reform is key to moving forward in economic reform.” One obvious example is that administrative underperformance has been blamed on dwindling direct foreign investment.
To complete the circle, we also need to emphasize that judicial reform is equally important, as the King reiterated during a recent meeting with Judicial Council President Mohammad Ghazou, when he received the council’s annual report, and where he stressed that “a just, impartial, and efficient judiciary is a must to support political modernization.”
The meeting was among three separate meetings, during which His Majesty also received similar reports from the Jordan Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission and the National Center for Human Rights.
The bottom line is that His Majesty the King is after all-inclusive reform that incorporates sound legislation, collective public and private work and partnership, public engagement to succeed, and as important as it is, institutions that should adopt and protect the fruits of the process.
Jordan has no alternative path to this as it is stepping into its second centenary. Reform is the collective responsibility of all in order to row in tandem towards the harbor of safety and prosperity, for the sake of us all and the generations to come.
It is surely doable as all of the ingredients for the recipe of success are available. We need to believe in our ability to make that happen and act on such faith accordingly.
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