Irbid: More than two years after the creation of the Western Irbid district, citizens are again asking how much progress has been made on the ground, and whether the decision has improved government services, job opportunities and local development. They are calling for the completion of government directorates, the modernization of electronic platforms and simpler official procedures for residents.
اضافة اعلان
The district was created after years of demands, with hopes that it would improve service levels and ease the suffering of citizens who must travel to the Irbid governorate center to complete government transactions. Today, however, residents are asking which institutions have actually been established, which services have become available, and what plans exist to fill the remaining gaps.
Residents affirm that the success of the new district cannot be measured by the administrative change alone, but by the extent to which it becomes tangible services covering health, education, agriculture, tourism, antiquities, public works and more, along with job creation and development across all areas of the district.
Jamal Al Bataineh, the former mayor of Western Irbid, said the creation of the district was an important step toward strengthening administrative decentralization, distributing services and relieving pressure on the Irbid governorate center. He stressed the need to complete this step by providing the government institutions and directorates that meet citizens' needs.
Al Bataineh said the creation of the district has strengthened the area's administrative presence through a district governor who follows up on various development, investment, health and environmental issues, as well as traffic matters and other files affecting citizens' daily lives.
He added that the presence of the sub-governorate office allows citizens to follow up on their affairs and transactions locally, instead of having to visit the governorate center in Irbid city, which helps simplify procedures and reduce the burden on citizens.
The importance of continuing efforts
Al Bataineh also stressed that the creation of the district should not be limited to the administrative side. It should be followed by attracting government institutions and directorates, which would strengthen the area's ability to provide services, and he stressed the importance of continuing efforts and official demands to achieve this.
Regarding appointments, university admission and military conscription, Al Bataineh pointed to the importance of taking the area's particular circumstances into account and providing fair opportunities for its sons and daughters. He said that reserving quotas for people from Western Irbid in some fields would allow them to compete within a fairer geographic scope, rather than against large numbers of applicants from a wider area.
He also noted that residents face challenges when applying for some jobs, since Western Irbid is not listed independently among some application options. He said this issue needs to be addressed in a way that ensures clear procedures and equal opportunities for the district's residents.
Al Bataineh affirmed that the next phase requires the combined efforts of official and community bodies, and continuous follow-up on service and development demands. He noted that strengthening the status of the Western Irbid district requires building a comprehensive institutional system capable of meeting residents' needs and achieving the development that is hoped for.
Citizen Ali Al Azzam said the creation of the Western Irbid district was an important administrative step that residents had awaited for many years. What is needed today, he said, is to know what has actually been achieved since the decision was issued, and how it has affected their daily lives.
He added that citizens had hoped the creation of the district would be followed by government institutions that make transactions easier and spare them the hardship of travelling to the Irbid center. He stressed the importance of announcing which directorates have already been established and which the area still needs.
Al Azzam stressed the need for a clear plan to complete services, including setting priorities, identifying responsible bodies and a timetable for implementation. He noted that involving citizens in defining their needs would help direct projects toward the most urgent issues.
Citizen Khaled Al Tahat stressed the importance of completing government directorates in the district, especially in the health, education and agriculture sectors, to ensure citizens can access services easily and to relieve pressure on institutions in the governorate center.
He added that the health sector needs an assessment of the reality of existing health centers, including the availability of doctors, medicines and specialized services, as well as a study of the need to strengthen services or establish additional administrative and health facilities. He called for monitoring schools' needs and developing educational and administrative services in line with the population's needs.
Al Tahat noted that the people of Western Irbid need clear answers about the directorates that have been established, and the services still provided through central directorates. He called on the relevant bodies to announce their future plans and implementation dates, so that citizens feel the creation of the district has truly improved service levels.
Driving development forward
Citizen Mahmoud Hazaimeh, for his part, stressed that the creation of the district should be an opportunity to drive development, not merely an administrative adjustment. He said Western Irbid has agricultural, natural and heritage assets that can be invested in to create jobs and improve residents' economic conditions.
He added that farmers need stronger agricultural extension and technical support services, and easier access to the relevant bodies. He also called for attention to be paid to the district's tourist, archaeological and natural sites, developing and promoting them, which would open new economic prospects for residents.
Hazaimeh stressed the importance of setting a comprehensive development vision that identifies the needs of towns, ranks projects by priority, and strengthens coordination among government institutions, municipalities and relevant bodies. He insisted that citizens must see clear results from the creation of the district in services, job opportunities and development.
Citizen Ahmad Shallol raised the issue of job opportunities and government appointments, asking how much the creation of the district has affected the employment opportunities available to its residents, particularly young job seekers.
He added that one issue requiring attention is that the name "Western Irbid district" does not clearly appear as an independent name on some government electronic platforms, according to what residents have observed, and that the name "Irbid Qasaba" still appears in some procedures or data, depending on the system used.
Shallol asked why some systems have not been updated to match the approved administrative divisions. He called for a review of government platforms and a clarification of how areas are determined when submitting job applications and official transactions. He also called for stronger job opportunities and the completion of institutions and services, affirming that residents are waiting for tangible results that turn the administrative decision into a better reality.
The government directorates file is one of the most important areas for evaluating the experience of creating the district. Answering the question of how complete they are requires official data showing which institutions currently exist, the nature of their work, and whether they are independent or belong to central directorates in the governorate.
In the health sector, demands focus on strengthening health centers with staff, equipment and medicines, and studying the need for additional services. In education, the priority is monitoring schools' needs and simplifying administrative and educational procedures.
The agricultural sector also needs extension and technical services closer to farmers, while the tourism and antiquities sector needs plans to protect heritage and natural sites and invest in them sustainably.
For his part, a government source who asked not to be named said completing the services requires coordination among the relevant ministries and government institutions, each within its own remit. He noted that the administrative creation of the district does not necessarily mean that independent directorates for all ministries will be established immediately, as this depends on the region's needs, regulatory decisions and available resources.
He added that updating electronic platforms requires the bodies that own these systems to review them, to ensure that approved names and administrative divisions are included and citizens' procedures are simplified.
The source explained that a shortage of suitable buildings, and the unsuitability of some available buildings, are obstacles to opening a number of directorates for which establishment decisions have been issued. He said the relevant bodies are working to address these obstacles within available resources.
By Ahmad Al Tamimi. Published by Al Ghad.
