The current national situation is precise and serious.
Polices, the State-Citizen relationship, and various other aspects of the official institution all require a fundamental overhaul.
In previous articles, we discussed the necessity of formulating two new societal and social contracts.
Regarding the first, Societal Contract, the National Charter of 1992 could platform national consensus, which bases for fundamental political, societal constructs.
The second, is the Social Contract, which could be elaborative of the Jordanian Constitution.
Why? Because everything has changed.
From the domestic challenges, conditions, threats, and opportunities, to the foreign situation, all around us, it has all changed.
Maintaining the current status quo on obsolete basis is ill-advised, particularly in regards to the State-Citizen relationship, which is if we really want a place for us in the future.
For instance, Director of the Social Security Corporation (SSC), Nadia Rawabdeh, said at a forum that there is a growing problem in regards to early retirement.
It comprises 58 per cent of the pension bill, with nearly 100 thousand early retirees, around 47 per cent of the SSC’s total number of pensioners.
These figures are massive, and they certainly will reflect on the future of most Jordanians.
We need a new culture to counter the phenomenon of early retirement, which, if dismissed, will culminate into a real catastrophe.
Another example is the Feisali incident, alongside all the incidents of the sort we see here, in Jordan.
Put the referee aside, and the riots too, this happens everywhere.
From a societal, political, cultural perspective, however, the mutual identity rivalry involved in our sports is dangerous.
Among many things, it signifies a weak civic culture and utter disrespect of both the law and the ‘other’.
Not to go through everything we discussed in yesterday’s article all over again, but to confirm it.
We stand before a critical phase, which would push politicians, intellectuals, academics, and research centres to thoroughly explore our future, and that of the upcoming generations.
In any case, the current course is not in the least promising.
A budget isn’t everything; this isn’t a supermarket.
There is far more to the concept and structure of state than just budgeting, which —needless to say— is an important part of the relationship between the citizen and political system. The very nature of the Jordanians’ relationship with their political institutions has changed.
Naturally, we need a new theory today, to govern and advance national policy and culture, and to construct a political and media message, conveyable to the public.
Of course, when we speak about such a national overhaul, we do not mean all at once; it is not possible.
However, it does mean that we want to address all this in a national roadmap towards our Jordan’s future, to shed light on the future and the upcoming challenges, for Jordanians.
Where we were, where we are, and where we’re going.
Accordingly, we would reformulate and reprioritise.
Administrative reforms are important, so is the issues of the youth, restructuring the labour market, education, vocational and technical training and qualification, labour laws, all are crucial to our imminent future and can help along the lines above.
It could also serve the formulation of a fundamental Jordanian philosophy, and an envisioning of a practical approach to comprehensive national development.
Former minister, Samer Tawil, commented on my article yesterday saying that transformation requires an alternative which would secure economic-social balance.
This is entirely true.
But we need to start by discussion these issues more openly and directly, at least among the intellectual and political elite. Those with a thorough, fundamental understanding of our issues, away from the mundane feud.
This article is an edited translation of the Arabic version, published by AlGhad.
