Jordan’s House of Representatives Passes Law to Merge Security Services

Arab World

February 5th, 9:49am

Amman- Mohammed Kheir Alrawashdeh

Jordan's King Abdullah II (AFP)

Jordan’s House of Representatives has passed a law that merges the Civil Defense Directorate and the General Directorate of the Gendarmerie into the Public Security Directorate. The law applies after King Abdullah II approves it and is published in the Official Gazette. Speaker of the Jordanian House of Representatives said the law aims at implementing the King’s vision in developing the agencies' performance and rationalizing the expenditure of security and civil institutions and departments in the Kingdom, thus facing the economic hardships endured by Jordan. The law would require the integration of independent institutions having a budget of about two billion dinars. Jordanian King Abdullah II took political and official circles by surprise in January by ordering the immediate merger of the Civil Defense Directorate and the General Directorate of the Gendarmerie into the Public Security Directorate. The decision came in a letter addressed by King Abdullah to Dr. Omar Razzaz’s government. “The cabinet should take the necessary legislative and administrative measures for the merger in a manner that ensures enhanced security coordination, improves the quality of services provided to the public, and mitigates the burden on the general budget,” the letter said. The King’s decision is considered an important step in rationalizing public expenditure at a time when the government recently announced the deficit in the 2020 budget amounting to JD1.3 billion after grants, constituting 3.9 percent of GDP. In 2008, King Abdullah issued his royal decree to form a General Directorate of Gendarmerie linked with the Ministry of Interior Affairs for the sake of creating an independent specialized force for dealing with exceptional security conditions and maintaining security and order in line with respected laws and human rights. Head of parliament’s legal committee MP Abdul Monem Odat told Asharq Al-Awsat that the royal decree on the merger requires necessary measures in terms of amending laws and legislations related to these institutions. The civil defense directorate was established during the reign of the late King Hussein bin Talal in the late 50s. It was affiliated with the Public Security and had been separated financially and administratively in 1978.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2116321/jordan%E2%80%99s-house-representatives-passes-law-merge-security-services