Jordan crisis: is it pure economic?

Hussein Albanna
2021 / 3 / 30

Jordan crisis: is it pure economic?

Since 1989 Jordan did not experience like these economic circumstances. The annual budget deficit is around (USD 2.5 Billion), and the public debt reached (USD 42 Billion) which represents (110%) of its GDP, all of that led to salient stagflation for many years.

The major sources of the budget deficit are: Trade halt with Syria and Iraq after ISIS control over large area of the borders, the government expenditure burden on the public services as a result of receiving (1.5 Million) Syrian refugees which maximize Jordan s efforts to meet their humanitarian responsibilities, reduction of crude price that -dir-ectly influenced Jordanian expatriates transfers rate from (Arab gulf ) side by side with "nationalization" of the jobs taken place there, and the difficulties of gas importation after "pipes attacks" in Egypt.

Year after year, it becomes harder to depart this economic extended " bottle neck ", in spite of governmental efforts to cut down expenditures, and taxation reform policy after incom tax act in 2019.

Today, there is an "in-depth debate" taken place here in Jordan, argues if the crisis is pure economic´-or-it has another political side?
Many local voices started "loudly" figuring out other reasons of this economic dilemma, namely: corruption, mismanagement, transparency, and constitutional power structure.

Yet, Jordan has the capacity to solve its problems, and "by free!", this may be via more democracy, transparency, press freedom, and more constitutional empowerment of "elected" government and parliament. Middle East needs prosper and stable Jordan, for peace and mutual beneficial relations.




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