By Jumana Ghunaimat
Some repeat that the decision makers are unsatisfied with the economic performance of the government, basing it on the increasing debt, which will shy of the 21 billion Jordanian dinars by the end of this year, reaching more than 80 % of GDP.
The elites are promoting the idea, and it is being traded in the political salons. But those who are giving this idea are denying reports that increased indebtedness, if true, is not surprising or unexpected; it is known that it will increase by about 2 billion during the current year and the years to come, until the liberalization of the electricity tariff.
As for the economic evaluation of the government, there is no doubt that it has a positive balance, at least at the official level, especially as its premier Dr. Abdullah Ensour was the only one, among a number of PMs, who managed to make tough and unpopular decisions, but are considered reforms from the official perspective, and cannot proceed without it.
Ensour’s government passed a decision to de-subsidize fuel fully, and provided cash support in its place. It is also taken a decision to increase the electricity tariff, this time in installments and over the years, with the objective of addressing the debt of the National Electricity Company.
The government was going, until the last breath, to lift subsidies on bread and replace it with cash subsidies provided through the smart card, but the tips that came from the “decision makers” forced the government to take it slow, which led the premier to continue to wave it as an important decision that needs to be made, perhaps as a message to those who would succeed him about the difficult decisions that still need to be made, first and foremost, in a case that is highly symbolic and sensitive in Jordan; bread.
It is also the only government that has decided, faced, and defended its decisions, sometimes convincingly, and illegitimately at others, but it did what any other government could do, and we mean owning the decision and making it.
But the question today is: Would the government leave because of the economy?
Most probably not, and the card that will decide its fate is the extent of its success in spending the GCC’s grant, and ability to achieve big goals, including sustainable development and the reduction of the development gap between Amman and the other governorates, which has not yet been seen by the citizen.
After all of that, and the assessment of data and the overall atmosphere, it seems unlikely that this government will leave us because of the economy, despite the disagreements entrenched between its economic team, its marginalization of the tourism ministry, even though we are in dire need to develop the tourism sector, which we dubbed “Jordan’s oil”.
The real flaw in the government's economic performance is an exaggeration of rhetoric about the achievements, while unable to reveal the numbers, specifically poverty and unemployment.
It is true that the most pressing crisis in Jordan now is the economy, but no government that will come without any prior program will not fare better than Ensour’s, which means that the reasons that could potentially drive it to leave, if existent, after a couple of months, will not include the economy.
This article is an edited translation from the Arabic edition.
