AMMAN — On Friday, the
International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva predicted a global
economic decline due to the impact of the
Omicron coronavirus variant,
according to media reports.
اضافة اعلان
More specifically, she said the global
economy is expected to grow at a rate of 5.9 percent this year, but slide next
year, to reach 4.9 percent.
Georgieva said that inflation is
increasingly likely to occur globally, but the measures to address it will
depend on individual countries.
Shorouq Hilal, acting head of social media
at the
Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, told Jordan News that the ministry is aware
of certain predictions by financial experts and banks about a global decline in
the economic growth and that while the ministry is “aware that some countries
have resorted to lockdowns as a result of Omicron”, “the best Jordan can do now
is to be optimistic that the Omicron’s biological and economic impact will not
be very drastic”.
Key to attempting to contain the
repercussions is “paying attention to upcoming updates from financial experts”,
she said.
Hilal said that the riskiest measure
against Omicron, from an economy point of view, would be having yet another
round of lockdowns throughout the Kingdom, particularly knowing that the lockdowns
during the first and second waves took a heavy toll on people and economy.
For example, “several small business
owners had to close their businesses which operated successfully for years” and
some public sector workers had to settle for receiving half of their original
wage, due to economic decline, she said.
There is, however, no evidence that suggests
Jordan will go down the lockdown route any time soon.
Most vulnerable to the effects of a return
to national lockdown are “those who rely on daily wages”, she said, adding that
this group would find it even more difficult to have to repay bank loans if the
economic impact of a potential Omicron spread turns out to be hard hitting.
Limiting gatherings in public spaces by
checking the vaccination status upon entry is a measure that Hilal supports and
finds “necessary”, especially since it “will not cause dire economic
consequences”.
“When everyone starts to care about other
people the same way they do about their own interests, the safety of the people
will be ensured” and with it, the economic interests.
Ministry of Labor spokesperson Mohammad
Zyoud said that as a result of the economic repercussions of COVID-19, the ministry
has been collaborating with governorate leaders in matters related to employment.
As a result, job opportunities in the productive sector have been created in
the most impoverished areas in the Kingdom, “especially those with the highest
rates of unemployment”.
“These job opportunities mostly involve
work in clothing and textile industry, which is particularly suited for
Jordanian women seeking work during the pandemic,” he said.
Zyoud also said that the “ministry has
been coordinating with the Development and Employment Fund since the beginning
of the crisis to reschedule loan payments for citizens who have been financially
impacted by the pandemic” to relieve some of the economic pressure they are
under.
“With or without Omicron, as a nation, we
are still feeling the economic impact of the initial outbreak, but I am
confident in the government’s capacity to resolve issues relating to Jordan’s
economic growth,” he said.
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