(MENAFN - Jordan News Agency) Amman, Dec. 12 (Petra) -- Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, on Tuesday, hosted a meeting of the Ministerial Decentralization Committee, with presidents of the governorates councils, headed by Interior Minister Ghaleb Zu'bi.

Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury, Minister of Political and Parliamentary Affairs Musa Maaytah, and secretaries generals of the concerned ministries attended the meeting.

Fakhoury said the committee was briefed on demands of the presidents of the councils to improve the decentralization system, which is based on a Royal vision to enhance people's participation in the political reform process.

He added that the meeting aimed to focus on requirements of the decentralization project in 2018, with regard to strategic and executive development plans for each governorate that will be based on creating a guide on municipalities' needs, and another guide for the needs of governorates to direct the implementation of development plans.

During the meeting, the committee outlined the national framework for development that the government works on, such as the Jordan 2025 blueprint, the executive development programme 2016-2019, which is being updated to cover 2018-2020 and will include the outcomes of the Stimulation of Economy Growth 2018-2022 Plan, the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030, the development programme for governorates 2017-2019 and the development programme for Badia regions 2017-2019.

The participants were provided with the plans' details, in addition to investment plan for governorates, feasibility studies of the investment opportunities in the governorates, the draft of the "needs guide" and details of the Jordan Response Plan for the Syrian Crisis (JRP).

Zu'bi said the meeting is the beginning of working on projects, plans and realizing the objectives of the decentralization project.

He added that Jordan has become a regional leading country in the field of decentralization, which will directly connect citizens with the government and involve them in the decision-making process related to their governorates development priorities.

Minister Maaytah said the ministry's role is coordinating the needs of the councils and working with them in accordance with legislations and the specific roles of each body.

Fakhoury said the practical framework to support the councils begins at the ministerial committee as the basic pillar of the government's efforts to help the governorates and the executive councils, as well as supporting the outcomes of decentralizations, to realize a comprehensive development that include citizens in all governorates and bridge the development gaps among governorates.

The ministerial committee's task is to follow up on the work of the seven domains committees, which are legislation, institutional capacity, awareness, institutional and organizational structures, evidence and procedures, finance, local development, services and ICT.

Minister Fakhoury noted that the role of the Planning Ministry is to support and build capacity of the local councils, executive councils and governorate councils, and executive bodies in all administrative, technical, institutional, leadership, strategic planning and development planning fields.

He said relevant programs are currently underway, such as CITIES project in cooperation with the USAID, the project to support decentralization in cooperation with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Local governments Support Project in cooperation with the Dutch Municipal Federation (VNGi), the project of decentralization and supporting local development financed by the EU, The project to support the municipal sector in Jordan and in cooperation with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), through which 12 municipalities will be trained in strategic planning and decentralization, the project to support the municipal sector in Jordan in cooperation with the FCM, and the project to support decentralization through the Global Partners Foundation.

Fakhoury stressed that the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation is ready - within the process of decentralization - to look for the requirements of capacity building and according to the issues and developments that will appear during the implementation of the process, based on the fact that this process is a continuous process in the coming years.

AF
12/12/2017 - 07:15:17 PM

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