Speaker outlines House’s achievements in first ordinary session

Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh said Sunday that the legislature had laid down the foundations for a transparency approach during its first ordinary session through issuing a periodic biweekly report on its performance.

He told a press conference to outline the House’s achievements in parliament’s ordinary session, which was dissolved by a Royal decree, that the report on the Chamber’s performance was to keep the public and those interested in its overall actions posted.

The House chief said the report is meant to lay out the accomplishments and shortcomings, as the legislature perseveres in its oversight and legislative mission, adding “we won’t hesitate to acknowledge a fault, if it happens, and will work to correct it”.

The House, he stressed, would welcome any criticism or comments made before and after the publication of a report as long as such criticism is intended to correct the mistakes, not for the purpose of abuse.

Tarawneh said that during the ordinary session, the House had held 64 legislative and 10 oversight sessions, including debating the 2009-2015 Audit Bureau reports, unanimously referring three enquiries concerning ministers to the prosecutor general and sending the rest of the clarifications to the Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission, while binding the government on the collection and recovery of funds.

“This step is key progress in the administrative and financial reform file, as it puts all before their responsibility to protect public money, and (positively) reflects on the spirit and performance of the lawmakers as it galvanizes them to exercise their oversight role”, said the Speaker.

On the legislative side, he said, the chamber passed 26 draft laws, while the various committees held 389 meetings, focusing mostly on updating legislations and dealing with the citizens’ issues and woes, as well as tackling labour and students affairs.

In its diplomatic role, he said that the legislature, in its meetings with Arab and foreign envoys, had sought to put the focus on the strains placed on the Kingdom by the Syrian refugee crisis and rally world support for the Palestinian cause, Jordan’s top issue, to realize the Palestinians’ aspirations for an independent state, halt Jewish settlement construction and emphasise the Hashemite custodianship over Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.

He also said lawmakers had taken part in many regional and global meetings, noting Jordan’s membership in Arab, Mediterranean and international parliamentary committees.