Jordan’s centenary triggers memories of the achievements
made to bolster the pillars of the state and overcome the challenges facing the
nation, whether internal or external.
اضافة اعلان
The most common argument these days is that we have been
better before, economically speaking, a statement that needs scrutinizing on
scientific basis to verify.
We have been a state relying on foreign assistance since the
inception of Transjordan, so much so that in the mid-1960s, grants were larger
than revenues. Today, in contrast, foreign assistance constitutes no more than
15 percent of total revenues, which in many cases covers around 85 percent of
public expenses. Jordan has a resilient economy that generates a sizable income
from fees, taxes and other revenues that are used to finance the different
needs of the country.
Some say that we are stepping into the new centenary without
assets as the governments have sold these as part of the privatization process.
This is false, too. The fact is that the state has influential stakes in many firms,
including those privatized, such as the potash and phosphates companies, where
stakes owned by the government and the Social Security Investment Fund equal
almost half the total value, while the value of the share has increased
remarkably, multiplying by the dozens, compared with what they were worth
before the privatization.
The telecom sector, for example, was entirely state-owned,
generating around JD100 million annually, while the services were almost
non-existent for citizens or of low quality. Nowadays, after the privatization,
the sector employs tens of thousands of Jordanians and generates for the
treasury more than JD300 million in direct revenues and taxes, let alone the
qualitative leap in telecom and IT services.
Some believe that the economy performed better in the past,
which is, again, completely inaccurate from a theoretical and practical points
of view.
In the first centenary, Jordan has been relying on foreign
assistance and the public sector was the main employer, dominating the economy.
These days, the situation is completely different: The private sector
contributes more than half of the GDP, employs more than a million workers, is
the largest tax payer, leads a free economy and is an investor in and generator
of public funds.
We should not forget that the economic challenges Jordan has
seen in the first century of its history were so harsh that we were not able to
pay back external loans, for example, which led to a complete economic meltdown
in 1989 and a drop in the exchange rate.
This was the biggest challenge to the stability and very
existence of the Kingdom. Today, on the contrary, we are undergoing the hardest
times and economic challenges, like the situation brought about by the COVID-19
pandemic, yet the government confidently announces early enough its readiness
to meet all its financial commitments, internally and externally.
It has made good on this promise and it is indeed making
timely loan payments, and has actually paid all public sector salaries in full
for the three months when the employees were at home during the lockdown
imposed under the Defense Law.
As we enter the new centennial, concerned authorities should
revisit the state of the country in terms of plans and policies in the
education, health and administrative fields, with the aim of increasing their
efficiency and preparing them to function better in the new century. This is
not an uneasy task. This country has been built from scratch at the hands of
its people to become what it is now. Thus we can be the best and with the least
resources.
We need a modern legislative matrix and a package of mega
projects that boost development and employment and embodies genuine
public-private partnership. In this way, the economy will grow and be able to
fight poverty and unemployment, which constitute a real nightmare for the
country in its second centenary. The state will then be able to handle its
financial liabilities, especially the debts, which have, regrettably, reached
unsafe levels.
On
Independence Day, we recall the integrity and value
system that prevailed over the past decades.
We recall how the dignity of
Jordanians was untouchable.
We need more than ever to adhere to our values, heritage,
principles and dignity. We need to stand by our leadership to protect this
country from conspirators and the corrupt.
Read more national news
.jpg)
.jpg)
