AMMAN — The
Economic and Social Council of Jordan (ESC) has launched its fourth annual report since 2018 on Sunday. Titled
“State of the Country for 2021”, the report reviews the performance of various
government sectors by measuring the level of institutional achievement and
presenting proposals aimed at improving it.
اضافة اعلان
The report includes an analytical review of 21
different economic and social sectors, including the challenges they face, and
recommendations that would improve their performance and enhance their
interrelationships to achieve the desired economic and social progress in
society.
The report also hopes to contribute to enhancing
transparency regarding government work, and focuses on the strategies and plans
the
government implemented so far this year.
Weaknesses of some sectors were revealed in the
report, which concluded with a number of recommendations related to fiscal
policy, including a gradual reduction of the ratio of public budget deficit to
GDP before and after external grants.
It also recommended continuing adopting stimulus
policies to support economic growth and enhance
financial and monetary stability, creating an environment that attracts investments through unified
legislation, simplifying procedures, giving authority to government agencies
representatives, and setting time limits for responding to investors’ requests.
The report concluded that the coronavirus pandemic
and its economic and social effects continue to dominate government policies,
legislation and resources. The government had adopted several laws, decisions
and financial packages during the pandemic to help employees stay in their
jobs, settle outstanding issues with taxpayers, granted exemptions from fees
and fines, and subsidized loan interests.
It pointed out that the
Central Bank of Jordan had
implemented many flexible, rapid and proactive measures to mitigate the
repercussions of the pandemic, and that an expansionary monetary policy was
followed by reducing interest rates, providing the necessary liquidity for
economic activity, and enhancing the ability of economic sectors to face the
negative repercussions of the pandemic.
The report was prepared while the country was coping with difficult circumstances and challenges resulting from the prolonged slowdown of economic growth and the high unemployment rates,
It revealed that a number of indicators related to
the
industrial and commercial sectors point to a continued decline in the
competitiveness of the national economy, low efficiency in the use of available
economic resources, obstacles to the entry of foreign investments, limited
diversification of exports ,and high energy costs.
The report
indicates that the energy file still poses a major challenge to the national
economy, with increased reliance on imported crude oil, oil derivatives, and
natural gas to meet the needs of different sectors, and recommended, instead,
increased reliance on renewable energy sources that need to be integrated in
the energy strategy.
The health sector was successful in tackling the
pandemic, but is still facing challenges, most notably the absence of a unified
national reference for health system governance, and delay in achieving
comprehensive and equitable health coverage for the population, the report
shows.
President of the Economic and Social Council
Musa Shteiwi said that the report was prepared while the country was coping with
difficult circumstances and challenges resulting from the prolonged slowdown of
economic growth and the high unemployment rates, the continued impact of the
pandemic, and regional crises and conflicts in the region.
“The report included an analytical review of the
reality of the economic and social sectors and its recommendations would
improve the outcomes of the studied sectors and enhance interdependence among
them to achieve the desired economic and social progress in the community,” he
said.
In a related context, he said the
Kingdom is facing
major changes in the climate, represented by acute temperatures, and erratic
rainfall rates, which requires integrating the environmental dimensions in
various national policies.
Shteiwi added that His Majesty’s launching of an integrated
political, economic and administrative renaissance project as the country
enters its second centenary makes it necessary to develop a methodology
compatible with major reform projects, especially after completing the
political part of the reform plan by approving the outputs of the
Royal Committee to Modernize the Political System, and the amendments to the
Constitution, in addition to passing the parties and election laws.
All these changes, if implemented, he said, will
lead to a new strategic policy reality, which necessitates a review of the
nature and methodology of future reports. He added that after the internal
review, it was decided to maintain the state of the country report in
principle, but to develop a new methodology that focuses, in terms of content,
on a specific general topic with the aim of shedding light on all its
dimensions in all sectors, analyzing them in a scientific and in-depth manner,
and then making recommendations about them.
Nessreen Ghassan contributed to this
article.
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