After Jordan’s Deadly Fuel Protests, Calls Grow for Reforms
In recent days, three other Jordanian police officers were killed in a raid on the suspected killers’ hideout, where at least one militant Islamist was shot and killed.
Jordan’s government met some of the striking transport workers’ demands in the hopes they would return to work. But as Jordanian analyst Osama al-Sharif pointed out, underlying problems remain unresolved as ordinary Jordanians feel squeezed by the steady rise in fuel prices.
Writing in the Saudi Arab News, the analyst said the price hike has deeply impacted the cost of living for many Jordanians, whose average monthly salary hovers around $700. However, kerosene — the essential heating oil for poor families and many others — currently costs $1,200, making it difficult to stay warm during the winter.
While the government said the price of oil derivatives in Jordan could decrease in the new year, it argues it cannot abolish taxes on the commodity nor afford to subsidize it because that would have a negative impact on the troubled state budget.
Osama al-Sharif told VOA that Jordan needs to borrow $2.8 billion every year, which creates a deficit and increases the national debt. Up to 75% of the state budget goes to pay public sector salaries, leaving almost nothing for capital expenditures, he said, explaining the dilemma. The economy is not producing new projects or creating jobs and the economic situation, he said, needs reform.
“We do have this black hole in our budget which we are unable to cover so the government increases taxes and that, of course, that raises the prices of oil derivatives to historic levels which people simply cannot afford," he said. "I’m really surprised that the government didn’t anticipate a backlash as we have seen in the public transportation strike that took place. Any incident will trigger something, unfortunately, of what we have seen in the past 2 to 3 weeks.”
Jordanian analyst Amer al-Sabaileh, a nonresident fellow at the Washington-based Stimson Center, argues that intentional increases in the fuel prices by the government in winter should have been reconsidered.
Writing in the Jordan Times newspaper, he said “in delicate moments like this, Jordan needs a government that works to guarantee that Jordanians are not victims of spiraling problems but can work to secure their basic needs. There is no doubt that Jordan has been facing huge economic challenges and regional risks, but Jordan must work to avoid any kind of internal protests, popular anger and instability.”
Meanwhile, though protests and violence in Jordan are decreasing, the U.S. Embassy in Amman advised restricting nighttime travel outside of the capital.