Ajloun — Faced with mounting debt and environmental responsibilities that include maintaining cleanliness across vast, populated areas as well as tourist destinations frequented by visitors, Greater Ajloun Municipality is seeking to balance these demands by rescheduling its debts to various entities, enabling it to meet its obligations while allocating sufficient funds for its service and environmental duties.
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According to municipal committee chairman Engineer Mohammad Al-Bashabsheh, the municipality is also working to complete and maintain the operation of service and development projects that would benefit the local community and generate revenue, allowing it to continue serving residents more effectively.
Al-Bashabsheh told Al-Ghad that the municipality’s budget for the current year stands at JD 8 million and includes sustainable projects. When the committee assumed its duties, the municipality’s debt stood at JD 18 million, including JD 12 million owed to the Development and Employment Fund, JD 4 million to the Social Security Corporation, and JD 1 million in government deposits. He said the municipality had managed to reschedule these debts through agreements with the Development and Employment Fund and the Social Security Corporation, enabling it to implement service projects, programmes and activities across its areas.
He stressed that the municipality faces challenges in maintaining cleanliness and protecting the environment amid a growing number of visitors, which requires considerable effort. He noted that several measures had been taken to ensure a clean environment, including increasing the number of waste containers, intensifying waste collection through three shifts, and focusing on public awareness and education about the importance of protecting the environment and preventing indiscriminate waste disposal.
Al-Bashabsheh also said the municipality collects approximately 120 tonnes of waste daily to provide a safe environment for residents and visitors. It must also contend with rising machinery maintenance costs and higher expenses for implementing service and development projects.
Cutting electricity costs
Al-Bashabsheh added that the municipality is counting on several projects, including a solar power plant supported by the Canadian government. The project is among its sustainable development initiatives, relying on renewable natural resources and aiming to diversify electricity sources.
He said the project had helped reduce the municipality’s annual electricity bill by 65%, saving approximately JD 500,000. This, in turn, increases the municipality’s available revenue and helps improve service delivery.
The second project is the Ajloun Countryside Tourist Market, costing $1 million and funded by a World Bank grant. Al-Bashabsheh said it would positively affect tourism in the governorate. The municipality won the project through a competitive award, and it is expected to begin operating soon. It will create dozens of jobs and help market Ajloun’s rural products, supporting households and women and strengthening their economic empowerment.
“The third project is the environmental park, covering an area of 40 dunums and costing JD 248,000, funded by a World Bank grant,” Al-Bashabsheh said.
The park is located in the Shakayer basin, overlooking Ajloun Castle and the city of Anjara. It will provide an open space for families and people seeking relaxation and enjoyment of the natural landscape and diverse forests, which account for around 90% of the park’s area. The project will also add value to ecotourism and help curb uncontrolled picnicking that damages the environment.
He noted that the municipality is currently improving the visual appearance of the water springs at Ain Al-Tees and Umm Al-Jloud, with plans to extend the work to other springs. Other initiatives include improving Ajloun’s entrance from the Eshtafina Triangle, upgrading the hospital intersection and Al-Salous Street, and rehabilitating and improving the entrances to the governorate’s tourist city. The municipality also plans to improve the city centre and Al-Hasbeh Street in ways that could boost economic returns.
Al-Bashabsheh added that Greater Ajloun Municipality had also contributed to completing the Government Services Centre by providing a location for it—the Hashemite Hall rather than requiring people to wait until a new building could be constructed.
The Al-Rawabi area, which falls under Ajloun Municipality, is one of the governorate’s busiest tourist destinations throughout the year. Its natural and tourism attractions make it a popular destination for visitors and picnickers, highlighting the need to strengthen field services and provide the machinery required to support tourism and improve the visitor experience.
What about the Al-Rawabi area?
Al-Rawabi area director Abdo Al-Qudah said the area includes the towns of Eshtafina, Muhna, Al-Tayyara, Umm Al-Yanabee, Ras Munif and Samta. It extends from Deir Al-Barak along the Eshtafina tourist road to the cable car station near Mar Elias, and also covers Ajloun Forest Reserve, dozens of cabins and guesthouses, and the Al-Bakhash area, spanning a total length of 23 kilometres.
He pointed out that the entire area is served by just one compactor truck with a capacity of four tonnes. Around nine tonnes of waste are collected daily from 412 containers, in addition to 100 barrels. This makes it necessary to establish a waste collection schedule, particularly amid residents’ complaints about delays in collection.
Al-Qudah stressed that tourism in Al-Rawabi presents an important opportunity to stimulate the local economy and support small business owners and shops. However, this requires maintaining a clean environment, creating jobs for local residents and highlighting Ajloun Governorate’s tourism attractions.
He said sustaining and developing tourism requires the resources needed to meet visitors’ needs, particularly in public cleanliness, waste collection, road and facility maintenance, and the organisation of tourist sites.
These responsibilities, he added, make it necessary to provide suitable service vehicles and equipment by increasing the number of waste collection trucks and machines for cleaning and maintaining tourist locations. He also called for more sanitation workers and additional field staff, known locally as “Watan workers,” to preserve cleanliness and the area’s civilised appearance, particularly during weekends and tourist seasons when visitor numbers rise.
Al-Qudah emphasised the importance of coordinated efforts among the relevant parties, particularly Al-Rawabi’s administration and the governorate’s concerned authorities, including the tourism and antiquities, environment and agriculture sectors, the Royal Department for Environmental Protection, the Joint Services Council, civil society organisations, environmental associations and the private sector.
He called for a clear action plan identifying the area’s actual needs and securing logistical support and essential equipment in line with available resources and service priorities.
He also said support for Al-Rawabi could be strengthened by allocating programmes for regular maintenance and cleaning and placing waste containers at sites where visitors gather.
The Ministry of Local Administration recently took steps in this direction by installing metal waste containers in Eshtafina, Al-Sous and other locations. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Environment installed directional signs, and Greater Ajloun Municipality put up dozens of signs urging people to protect the environment, maintain cleanliness and improve access to tourist sites.
Al-Qudah explained that environmental awareness campaigns are being conducted for visitors as part of the national strategy for cleanliness and reducing indiscriminate waste disposal, with the participation of various stakeholders, to protect nature, the environment and public facilities.
“Supporting the area is not limited to providing machinery. It also requires adopting an integrated vision for developing local tourism, based on improving infrastructure, raising service standards, promoting tourist sites, encouraging youth initiatives and stimulating local investment,” he said. “This would help turn tourism activity into a sustainable development opportunity that benefits the local community.”
Source: Al-Ghad.
