US embassy cable - 04AMMAN5939

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