State budget allocations to finance half of JD6 billion EDP - Hassan

By Omar Obeidat

AMMAN - Around 50 per cent of the JD6 billion Executive Development Program (EDP) for 2011-2013 will be funded from the state budget allocations (capital expenditures) for different ministries, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Jafar Hassan said Saturday.

He elaborated that the rest of the funds needed to implement the program, whose details were revealed earlier this month, will come from the budgets of independent government agencies, including self-financing, in addition to around JD1.3 billion expected from international assistance.

The EDP, to be launched soon, will ensure the achievement of realistic development goals for 24 sectors through key projects that will be implemented in line with fiscal policies and the government's financial constraints, Hassan remarked in a statement to The Jordan Times.

"The Executive Development Program, which is based on the National Agenda and [His Majesty King Abdullah’s] directives to the government, translates the Kingdom’s development priorities into an action plan,” he added.

The minister said the EDP, which was prepared during the first half of this year through the collaborative efforts of more than 100 government agencies, was reviewed by the ministerial sectoral committees for weeks and approved by the Council of Ministers to guide the work of the government and to determine medium-term programs for ministries and public agencies.

“During the sectoral committee sessions, ministries made significant cuts to the program while prioritizing key projects that reduced the overall cost of the EDP by more than 30 per cent,” the minister said, explaining that most of the projects included in the EDP are ongoing projects, while less than 30 per cent of the total costs of the program are directed to new projects in light of budgetary limitations.

Stating that the program is also aligned with the medium-term financial outlook and reflects levels of capital expenditures for the 2011 budget, he noted that the EDP has indicative numbers for 2012 and 2013, which will be confirmed when the budgets for these years are prepared in order to ensure that the EDP remains linked to the overall fiscal and economic parameters set by the government.

The planning minister indicated that a portion of the EDP projects, particularly mega-projects, will rely on public-private partnerships for implementation, which he said will enable the government to overcome chronic development constraints in the areas of water and energy as well as to establish the National Railway Network.

“The program is also expected to provide donors with a concrete medium-term action plan from the government with specific projects, priorities and development goals, in addition to the targets outlined at the macro-economic level and those related to fiscal policies,” the official said.

The EDP sets realistic goals and priorities for capital projects in more than 24 sectors through a concrete roadmap with key performance indicators (KPIs) and a price tag that takes into consideration the fiscal space and expected assistance levels for 2011 and 2013, developed in close coordination with the Ministry of Finance and all relevant ministries through a new approach applied for the first time this year, according to Hassan.

The EDP, which includes more than 1,100 projects and 600 KPIs, will be shared with donors in the coming weeks to support their efforts to focus assistance on key development priorities and to provide a platform through which the planning ministry and donors can direct current and new assistance to priority areas and projects, he stated.

This is particularly important as many donors, such as the EU and World Bank, have medium-term cooperation programs with Jordan that are being renewed this year for the next 3-4 years, the minister added, noting that Jordan is working to develop medium-term programs with all other donors to ensure consistency and predictability in assistance levels as well as effective planning for financing projects in line with the new EDP.

21 November 2010

Source: The Jordan Times.
Link: http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=31942.