Jordanians angry at House, gov’t over spread of wasta
AMMAN — The recent appointments of the sons and relatives of MPs at the Lower House are still the talk of the town across Jordan.
The appointment of a new board of directors at the Irbid District Electricity Company (IDECO) by the state-owned Social Security Investment Fund was also a hot topic for the public over the past few days.
A document released earlier this month showed that 109 people were hired at the Lower House, 15 of whom are sons of MPs, while the majority are relatives of lawmakers.
On Tuesday, a new board of directors for IDECO was appointed. Hameed Batayneh, the son-in-law of Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour, was named as a member.
The appointment of Batayneh was harshly criticised by MPs later in the day during a House session, but Ensour emphasised that he never used his clout to push for the appointment of his relatives.
In interviews with The Jordan Times and in posts on social media, several Jordanians slammed both the House and the government.
Mohammad Mahasneh told The Jordan Times that he was shocked to see that some MPs who had claimed to be against wasta (using personal connections to obtain favours for friends and relatives) and corruption have pushed for hiring their children at the House.
“We don’t know who to believe in. To be honest, I neither trust lawmakers nor government officials,” he added.
Alaa Rjoub, a university graduate from Irbid, said it would be “too difficult” for Jordan to get rid of wasta and favouritism.
“It is the system here. If you have wasta you get a job,” said the 25-year-old, who holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science and graduated some three years ago.
Zein Al Farhan, from Amman, said she never believed in the government’s anti-wasta slogans.
“The sad thing is that you find qualified people deprived of public sector jobs because others supported by lawmakers or officials assume such jobs,” she told The Jordan Times over the phone.
On his Facebook page, Talal Al Masaied accused both the Lower House and the government of being corrupt, as he was commenting on the appointment of 109 people at the House and the selection of Batayneh at IDECO’s board.
Jamal Aqel, also on Facebook, wondered what about “our university graduates who are sitting at home waiting for job opportunities”.
Mona Dawir wrote that people elected MPs to represent them and to defend the interests of the country, not to seek their personal interests by securing jobs for their sons.
Baher Arar (@baherarar) wrote on Twitter that it is time for Parliament to be dissolved.
Islam Sawalha (@samsawalha) was critical of the appointment of Ensour’s son-in-law as board member at IDECO, accusing the premier of acting as if he were running his own farm.
Over the past days, the list of House appointees and financial statements showing the salaries of IDECO’s board members were shared by dozens of social media activists.
Statements showed on social networks claim that the salaries, with bonuses and other allowances, reach around JD5,000 a month.