Today, Wednesday, the Financial and Economic Committee in the Senate, headed by Dr. Ragai Al-Muasher, discussed the budget of the Ministry of Local Administration and its affiliated departments, and the Greater Amman Municipality, within the framework of its discussions on the draft general budget law for the fiscal year 2023.

This came during the committee’s meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Local Administration, Tawfiq Krishan, in the presence of the Secretary-General of the Ministry, Eng. Hussein Muhaidat, and the Secretary of the Greater Amman Municipality, Dr. Yousef Al-Shawarbeh, and a number of concerned directors in the Ministry and the Amman Municipality.

Al-Ain Al-Muasher talked about the importance of reviewing the ministry’s executive policies and plans, and the conditions of municipalities in terms of organization, development of their performance and indebtedness, stressing the importance of coordination between municipal councils and provincial councils, and aligning their executive plans with the outputs of the vision of economic modernization.

He asked about the mechanisms for following up the implementation of service projects and improving the infrastructure by municipalities, and their electronic services, and the role of the Cities and Villages Development Bank in providing the necessary financing, banking services, consultations, technical support and capacity building for local bodies, and the mechanisms of partnership between the public and private sectors to improve the reality of local communities.

For his part, Minister Krishan referred to the speech of King Abdullah II, “Provincial and municipal councils are the key to any development in our country,” and they are a basic pillar in political modernization, calling on the councils to cooperate by virtue of their closeness to citizens and the most knowledgeable of their needs.

He talked about the importance of the service and development role of municipalities, and the job opportunities they provide for young people through the establishment of investment projects in partnership with the private sector, pointing to a trend to create new municipalities in the provincial and district centers as part of a study carried out by a specialized committee according to specific criteria.

Minister Krishan explained the role of the ministry in facilitating the work of provincial and municipal councils to promote decentralization, which will reflect positively on the services provided and their level of quality, stressing that the participatory relationship between the council and the municipalities has proven successful.

He explained that municipal debts to citizens amount to about 350 million dinars, which is higher than their indebtedness that came due to unsuccessful investments, unjustified expropriation, the energy bill, and high salaries that approach 80% of the budget in some municipalities, stressing the issuance of incentive and encouragement decisions in this regard. .

In turn, Al-Shawarbeh said that the current and capital expenditures of the Greater Amman Municipality amount to about 450 million and 102 thousand dinars, and the current expenditures amount to 242 million and 510 thousand dinars, and the capital expenditures are 207 million and 592 thousand dinars.

He touched on the Municipality’s achievements on several levels, most notably the high-frequency bus project, transportation services and improving their quality, electronic services, the performance of the Municipality’s subsidiaries, partnerships with the private sector, waste dumps, road maintenance, the government’s contribution to the Municipality’s projects, collection of buildings and roofing tax, and services Organization.

He pointed to some of the challenges facing the Municipality in the current budget, most notably the salaries of its cadres, who number about 25,000 female and male employees, and loans and their benefits to citizens, amounting to about 351 million dinars.