Following are excerpts from Prime Minister Fayez Tarawneh's Letter of Reply to His Majesty King Abdullah's Letter of Designation:
Transitional, but significant
It is my honour, Your Majesty, to voice my loyalty and appreciation for the trust you have vested in me by tasking me with forming a transitional government to translate your vision of reform into facts on the ground and to continue the reform process so as to fulfil the Jordanian people's hopes and aspirations for the country's future.
A government's significance has nothing to do with its life span, and much to do with the missions it is entrusted to carry out. In line with the Constitution, this will be a transitional government. However, we hope it will be the government of reform achievements, which completes what was done in previous stages and implements your reform vision in a way that leads to parliamentary elections.
Reforms
Respect for the Constitution and resorting to it as our reference are the safety valves in the work of any government. Your Royal directive to commit ourselves to the principle of separation of powers is a beacon that guides us on the right path. A strong nation is one with a constitution and laws that follow a sound approach that ensures that each branch of government exercises its exclusive powers and that each branch respects the roles of the others. Such an approach means that all branches work in cooperation and coordination as one team, and that none encroaches upon the prerogatives of the others. Your government will meet your expectations, build on the achievements of previous governments, and cooperate with other constitutional institutions, foremost of which is the legislature, to enact the laws on political parties, the constitutional court and elections, along with any other reform-related piece of legislation.
You have taken the initiative to make the most significant amendments to the Constitution authored during the reign of your grandfather, His Majesty the late King Talal, in 1952. The aim was to bring the Constitution into harmony with the developments of the 21st century. After all, the Constitution is created to serve the higher interests of the country, not vice-versa. The amendments have served as the cornerstone of the political reforms that you envision and all Jordanians await. They entail several constitutional requirements that work in tandem as an integrated legislative matrix in the context of reform, such as the laws on elections, the constitutional court and political parties, drafts of which are in the hands of the Lower House.
The Law on the Independent Elections Commission for the Year 2012 was one of the key legislative achievements. For the first time in the history of our democracy, the Commission will run and oversee the electoral process, serving as a guarantor of its integrity and fairness. God willing, tomorrow I will forward to Your Majesty the names of the Independent Elections Commission members recommended by the prime minister, lower house speaker, Senate president and president of the judicial council, as stipulated in the Law. The government will provide all necessary support to enable the commission to carry out its job perfectly and in complete independence.
Since the elections law is the backbone of the reform process, the government will cooperate with Parliament to enact a law that reflects the political orientations and demands of all Jordanians and their political and social powers. The law will ensure the widest possible representation in the coming Lower House, serve the reform objectives and set the stage for the inception of future parliamentary governments.
Municipal elections
In implementation of Your Majesty's vision of reform and activation of the concept of local governance, the government will exert its best efforts to conduct municipal elections according to the law and in a way that enhances public participation in decision making and enables municipal institutions to play their important role in development and to provide services more effectively.
Under your wise leadership and inspired by the care you show for each component of the social fabric and political spectrum, this country has adopted an approach based on outreach, openness and respect of others' opinions and dissent in a way that has enhanced national solidarity and enriched dialogue over the hopes and concerns of the nation. The Jordanians have positively illustrated the meaning of peaceful expression of opinion and the popular movements have been civilised and committed to national interests. The government will continue to do its job in protecting freedom of expression and enhancing the civilised behaviour witnessed in Jordan on the part of citizens and governments alike.
The media
The press is one of most important tools to manage all issues, and it is the voice of the people as well as the state. The media has always been the focus of your attention and you have had a clear vision for this sector, while the freedom of professional and objective media has received your support. You have been a driving force for media development and for enhancing its monitoring and watchdog role. At the same time, Your Majesty has always called for cleansing the media sector of sensationalism and all practices, regardless of their scale, that could harm the image of the country and its achievements or that are aimed at character assassination. Your government will work to benefit from all strategies and efforts exerted in the past to develop the media, in cooperation with the media sector and concerned NGOs. Having said that, we appreciate the achievements of our media outlets, their professional performance and the role they play in serving the nation.
Corruption
Fighting corruption and punishing the corrupt is part of the comprehensive reform process. The government will continue this effort and will refer to the judiciary all those proven to have violated the law or misused public funds. The government will also work on supporting all institutions concerned with protecting integrity, combating corruption and monitoring the state, because preventive deterring measures are a very important component of the war against corruption. The government will work to draft a national integrity charter in cooperation and coordination with all monitoring bodies and concerned NGOs.
Economy
The government will adopt policies and economic and developmental reform programmes to increase economic activity and address the economic and financial woes facing state finance, with the aim of enhancing confidence in the Jordanian economy amongst Arab and international financial institutions and helping to attract foreign and local investments to create the jobs necessary to ease the impact of poverty and unemployment and secure a decent living for Jordanian men and women. In this context, we must revisit the ways Jordanian workers are rehabilitated, in cooperation with the private sector. In addition, we must complete the enactment of the Investment Promotion Law.
Regarding the financial problems that the state is suffering, such as the widening budget deficit and growing public debt, the government will take all necessary steps to rationalise and control public spending and increase domestic revenues. In this context, we have to revisit the Income Tax Law and apply the principle of progressive taxation. We also have to control the growing domestic and external debts so that their ratio does not cross red lines. Therefore, a policy that grants subsidies only to those who deserve them is needed. This policy is not only meant to curb waste and bring spending under control at this stage, but it will also have positive ramifications in the future and it should continue to be upheld throughout. The government will also further activate the role of military and civil consumer corporations as a means to protect the poor and middle classes.
Regarding the need to stop inflation before it reaches the point of overburdening citizens, the government's policy will seek to keep the inflation rate within reasonable limits and will, in this context, refer the draft consumer protection law to Parliament.
The government realises that the Jordanian economy suffers from limited resources and that the biggest challenge we face is to secure energy safely and at moderate cost. The government will push forward all projects to produce all forms of energy, especially those that rely on resources available in our country. We will do that with a strong will and determination, because energy is the thorniest issue that negatively affects our economy.
Arab Spring
The Arab Spring, the developments of which we have been following since the beginning of last year, has been either a storm that forced change (upon some), or a safe breeze on a country that has genuine desire to reform, develop and modernise, as championed by the political will of a visionary leadership that reaches out to its people and seeks to meet their aspirations and secure their right to participate in political life and the making of their future. This is our blessing in precious Jordan: a Hashemite leadership that always takes the initiative, leads reforms, identifies loopholes and issues directives to address them. We thank God for the blessings of safety, security and stability. Our thanks go to God and then to your wise leadership, your trust in your people and their loyalty to your leadership. We are all one big, cohesive and united family.
© Jordan Times 2012
