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Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Prime Minister Omar Razzaz said on Tuesday that his government has begun to set the broad outlines of the ministerial statement that will be submitted to the Lower House to seek confidence during the parliament's extraordinary session on July 9th.

The Prime Minister said during a meeting with House Speaker Atef Tarawneh, members of the Permanent Office and heads and members of the parliamentary blocs that today's meeting is part of an early dialogue with the legislature on the content of the government statement.

The manifesto, he said, will include clear indicators and programs with specific timelines for implementation to enable the House and the Senate to monitor the performance of the government, pointing out that the ministerial statement will not be lengthy.

During the meeting, which was attended by the deputy prime Minister and a number of ministers, Razzaz said the government will follow a new approach of dialogue and partnership, adding that such early openness with the parliament and civil society institutions would largely help to address the challenges facing the citizens and come up with solutions to pass the current hardship.

He said that the policy statement of the new government should deal with pressing issues in the short-term and in the medium- and long-term launch a "comprehensive renaissance enterprise", stressing that "the challenge before us today is to start with the urgent issues.. and at the same time to draw up an integrated plan for economic, political and social issues and to address any defect to achieve what we aspire for. This is what His Majesty the King had directed us in the Discussion Papers and the Royal Letter of Designation (to the government)." The premier said that the policy statement will focus on the issues that haunt the citizens, such as poverty, unemployment, health, education and transport according to specific indicators and time frames.

He said that the government will later launch a serious dialogue on the income tax bill, study alternatives and assess its financial and social impact and the burden the draft law will have to ensure that any solution takes into consideration the conditions of citizens.

Razzaz also said the new "social contract" that will be developed between the government and the citizen focuses on the concept of the citizen's rights and obligations to ensure the citizen's right to accountability through constitutional institutions and the government duty of frankness and disclosure.

The Lower House Speaker welcomed the government's openness to lawmakers before the debate of the policy statement, urging further dialogue to address the challenges and restore public trust in national institutions.

He said that it is unreasonable to talk about a tax hike with a shortfall in basic public services, and also called for the exemption of small farmers, who are unable to pay the interest owed to them.

The House chief also demanded that equipment and appliances be urgently supplied to hospitals in the governorates, especially those that need kidney dialysis units, as a priority in the government policy statement.

Members of the permanent office and heads of parliamentary blocs stressed that the government and the House stand before the challenge of improving the living conditions of citizens and the need to find creative solutions to the economic situation, stressing that the government statement should be based on real measurable programmes.

They also emphasised the importance of combatting administrative and financial corruption in all its forms and launching programmes to address poverty and unemployment.