'Strong Parliament vital to move forward'

AMMAN (JT) - His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday inaugurated the first ordinary session of the 16th Parliament with a Speech from the Throne.

In the speech, the King underscored that "the existence of a strong Parliament that exercises its constitutional responsibilities in legislation and monitoring is essential for the realisation of our vision for our people”.

The Monarch underscored that a genuine and institutional partnership between Parliament and government is essential for moving forward and for consolidating people's trust in their public institutions.

"I have directed the government to reassess the mechanisms through which it conducts its relations with the House of Representatives," the King said, stressing that the assessment must lead to improving the relationship between the two authorities, so that it becomes a relationship of cooperation and complementarity.

The Monarch highlighted the importance of avoiding past mistakes, noting that in order to do so, it is imperative that the two authorities agree on a binding set of principles, consistent with the Constitution and laws, that defines the basis on which the government will conduct its interaction with members of the House.

“Such clear guidelines for this interaction will assure our dear people that the government-Parliament relationship is a true partnership intended to serve public interests,” the King said.

The King highlighted the importance of political reform in the Kingdom, noting that economic reform should be accompanied with democratic reforms that increase public participation in the decision-making process.

In this regard, the government will refer the temporary Elections Law to the Lower House to study it and amend it as necessary to render this legislation more conducive to advancing democratic reforms, and to adopt it as a permanent law, the King said.

The government will also refer to the Parliament the draft Decentralisation Law, which is intended to ensure a larger role for the people in building their future and determining the development priorities for their governorates.

In the speech, the King stressed that the relationship between the government and the media should be based on the right of media institutions to work freely and independently, and to have access to information.

In terms of improving the performance of public institutions, the King said the government “has set a unit to monitor the implementation of executive plans and adopted a code of ethics by which all Cabinet members will abide”.

His Majesty noted that the government will provide the judicial authority with everything it needs to improve its performance and to ensure justice is served.

Referring to the state of the country’s economy, the King said overcoming economic challenges requires the adoption of viable economic policies that can provide citizens with better lives.

He added that the government has achieved positive results and that major economic indicators have shown improvement.

“There has been positive growth in the gross domestic product and the budget deficit has been reduced. The fiscal policies will continue to be geared towards curbing the budget deficit and consolidating financial stability,” the King said.

As for the educational sector, His Majesty emphasised the need to improve the living standards of teachers and protect their social standing.

Pointing to the seven priorities listed in the new government’s Letter of Designation, the King said: “The government’s work in the seven areas of priorities, that it has identified, represents a comprehensive development programme to improve performance in all sectors.”

Regarding the Jordan Armed Forces, the Monarch directed the government to provide the required support to ensure the military’s preparedness and development, whether in terms of training or armaments.

The King also renewed Jordan’s support for the Palestinians in their efforts to end the Israeli occupation, achieve justice and establish their independent state on their national soil.

The King also highlighted the Kingdom’s support for the Iraqi people in preserving the stability and security of their country.

29 November 2010

Source: The Jordan Times.
Link: http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=32174.