KING BACKS DECENTRALIZATION, PUSHES RELUCTANT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 005939

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/13/2014
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM JO
SUBJECT: KING BACKS DECENTRALIZATION, PUSHES RELUCTANT
GOVERNORS


Classified By: CDA David Hale for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d)

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SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) King Abdullah has made a priority of
decentralization through expanding the responsibilities and
capacity of the 12 regional governorates beyond their
traditional security mandate. The appointed administrative
governors have not made much progress in exercising the
authority granted them two years ago to supervise and
implement socio-economic development projects, but the
process has already sparked rivalry between the activist
Planning Minister and the Interior Minister. It also
highlights a paradox central to most of the King's reform
initiatives: their top-down nature has reinforced Jordanians'
apathy and passivity. End Summary.

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EXPANDING ROLE IN DEVELOPMENT
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2. (C) The Director of the Palace Policy Coordination
Department, Abdullah Woreikat, told PolCouns July 11 that the
King is actively engaged in changing the role of governors
from "law enforcers" to development managers who reach out to
the local populace. Woreikat noted that the King has already
held meetings with "notables" from seven governorates. The
notables include the governor and senior provincial security
officials, but also judicial and other ministry officers and
local businessmen and tribal leaders. Governors were given
broader authority to direct development projects in their
governorates two years ago. Woreikat said that the King has
been less than pleased that most governors have failed to
pick up those responsibilities, and he emphasized to the
governorate notables the need for more local involvement in
setting and following up on local development priorities.
Woreikat said the King had decided to hold the notables
meetings to show the governors -- who had not held such
meetings -- how to consult with their constituents.

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LIMITING DETENTION AUTHORITY
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3. (C) Traditionally the Ministry of Interior has appointed
the governors from the military or security services, and
they have a reputation for performing their law enforcement
duties in a relatively heavy-handed manner. Provincial
governors have the legal authority to issue orders for
detention and house arrest without specific criminal charges,
and activists have complained that governors have used this
authority excessively. In response to these complaints,
Interior Minister Habashneh was reported in the local press
to have instructed governors to refrain from issuing
detention orders for any individual unless they are suspected
of committing murder or an honour-related crime, such as rape
and molestation. Habashneh also instructed the governors to
exempt individuals on probation from required daily visits to
the police station, if a trustworthy citizen has signed a
guarantee on their behalf.

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DRAFT PLAN
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4. (SBU) With the King's encouragement, Habashneh is working
on a decentralization plan that will grant greater authority
to the governors to implement government programs currently
managed at the ministerial level. The details of the plan
remain sketchy but it seems to increase the role of the
center in forcing decentralization. As the governors have
balked at the first attempt, the King is intervening directly
in the governorates to push the decentralization agenda. This
paradox mirrors many of Jordan's other top-down reform
initiatives, such as encouragement of the formation of
political parties among an apathetic public.

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MINISTERIAL RIVALRY
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5. (SBU) IO discussed the King's decentralization efforts
with Al-Rai editorialist Sultan Hattab July 13. Hattab is a
Palestinian-origin Jordanian with close ties to Minister of
Planning Bassam Awadallah, who has started a program,
reportedly at the King's instruction, to build capacity and
professionalism throughout Jordan's governorates. This
program includes computer and management training. Hattab
told IO that implementation of the program has sparked a
rivalry between Awadallah and Habashneh, who, he said,
resents such encroachment by the notoriously "intrusive" and
Palace-favored Awadallah.

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COMMENTS
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6. (C) The new decentralization strategy remains in the
planning stages and will ultimately call for the ministries
of interior, finance and planning to cooperate in drafting
new legislation. While decentralization is theoretically a
step in the right direction that could cut bureaucracy and
improve services, we do not expect to see results on the
ground in the near term. This situation serves as another
example of the King's challenges at modernizing the country
as he encounters resistance and institutional rivalries. It
is also questionable whether the King himself is prepared to
tolerate the loss of control implicit in a true
decentralization process.
HALE