AMMAN, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- The new Jordanian government should formulate immediate and realistic plans to address the nation's economic woes and improve the people's living conditions during the current COVID-19 crisis, experts said.
On Monday, new Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh and his cabinet were sworn in before King Abdullah II of Jordan, as the Arab kingdom is confronted with an alarming unemployment rate of more than 20 percent and a decline in both production and consumption.
Wajdi Makhamreh, an independent economist, said the new government should start with creating jobs and attracting investments to meet the mounting challenges.
"The coronavirus crisis resulted in tough challenges, and the priority should be fixing the economy in the light of the increasing burden on citizens," he told Xinhua.
Hosam Ayesh, an economist and a columnist specialized in economic affairs, shared similar views.
"The government's mandate is to focus on the health situation, protect the economy and attract investments. All these require well-studied plans to reach tangible results," Ayesh said.
"Before the pandemic, the economic situation was already difficult. It worsened with the impact of the coronavirus crisis as many businesses were shut down and many lost their jobs. We need to see quick economic interventions to save businesses and create jobs and keep the existing jobs," he added.
According to the International Monetary Fund, Jordan's economy is expected to contract by three percent in 2020.
Saeb Rawashdeh, a political analyst at the Jordan Press Foundation, said the government will preside over the upcoming parliamentary elections at an exceptional time of a resurgence in coronavirus cases.
"The new government will have to strike a balance between protecting the health of Jordanians and preserving the economy, which needs sensible measures to avoid criticism and failures," Rawashdeh noted.
For Jordanian citizens, health and economy are also their top concerns.
"What matters most to me is to keep the economy going. When the government resorted to total lockdown in April and May, I suffered a salary cut by half. I cannot afford any more cuts. If the business is slow, we employees could lose our jobs," Mohammad Nasser Sheikh, a sales manager at a private IT company, told Xinhua.
"At the same time, the government needs to take solid measures to prevent further increase in cases, and enforcing the law in this regard is very important," he said.
Ayman Hajj Abed, who lost his job as a salesman in a garment store amid the pandemic, said creating jobs and stimulating economic growth is the key to overcoming this crisis.
"Resorting to curfews is important when necessary, but it is supposed to be coupled with measures to help the jobless who have no source of income," Abed told Xinhua. Enditem
