Irbid, Oct. 5 (Petra) – Former Prime Minister Abdul Raouf Rawabdeh emphasized that strengthening local administration and activating its role in development represent a fundamental step toward achieving justice in the distribution of services and enabling citizens to participate in decision-making.
Rawabdeh highlighted the importance of balancing centralization and decentralization to ensure the efficiency of public administration, noting that effective administration is the foundation for translating public policies into tangible reality, understanding citizens’ needs, and meeting their demands.
His remarks came during an economic dinner organized by the Partners-Jordan organization, in collaboration with the Irbid Development Corporation– Women’s Committee, and supported by the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD), under the title "Local Administration: Opportunities and Challenges," with participation from political and economic figures and representatives of civil society organizations.
Rawabdeh affirmed that local administration is a key pillar for achieving comprehensive development by transferring some powers from central ministries to municipalities and local councils to accelerate decision-making and improve service levels. He stressed the need to simplify procedures, bring decision-making closer to citizens, and enhance public participation through elected councils, considering decentralization the optimal path to improving administrative performance and achieving balanced development.
For his part, Ali Fayad, director of Partners-Jordan, said the organization seeks, through its partnerships with civil society institutions and official bodies, to promote national dialogue on the future of local administration and its role in economic and social development, praising the cooperation of the Emaar Irbid Foundation, the Women’s Committee, and the support of the Dutch Institute in ensuring the success of the event.
Reem Badran, Chairperson of Partners-Jordan, stressed the importance of keeping pace with the digital transformation project, developing monitoring and accountability tools, and building the capacities of local administration members and staff to contribute to achieving fair and sustainable local economic development.
Badran also called for reviewing legislation related to local administration to make it better able to respond to citizens’ aspirations and development challenges in the governorates.
Meanwhile, Amina Al-Zoubi, Chairwoman of the Women’s Committee at the Irbid Development Corporation, said empowering women in local work is a fundamental pillar in achieving comprehensive development, noting that women are key partners in community and administrative decision-making, and called for supporting women’s initiatives and enhancing their participation in leadership positions.
NIMD director Bashar Al-Khatib affirmed the institute’s commitment to supporting efforts to consolidate the concepts of decentralization and local administration and to enhance political participation, contributing to sustainable development across the governorates.
Participants in the event discussed the main challenges facing local administration, ways to develop it, the legislative framework governing it, the ability of local councils to achieve economic development, as well as strengthening the role of women in development decision-making.
//Petra// AF
