Jordan’s 2021 budget is a harbinger of worse things to come
The Jordanian government approved the 2021 draft budget law, which suggests an even tougher and more unstable year for Jordanians, who are witnessing a growing economic crisis worsened by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Jordanian government approved the 2021 draft state budget and the draft law governing the budgets of independent public institutions on Nov. 28, and referred them to the newly elected parliament for debate and approval. King Abdullah II issued a decree Dec. 2 calling on the legislature to meet in an extraordinary session beginning Dec. 10. Lawmakers are expected to dedicate most of their upcoming sessions to discussing the draft state budget, which is expected to pass.
In a press conference held Nov. 30, Minister of Finance Mohamad Al-Ississ said the 7.875 billion Jordanian dinar ($11.1 billion) budget will be primarily financed from an estimated 7.298 billion dinars ($10.29 billion) in public revenue with a deficit of 2.05 billion dinars ($2.89 billion) after foreign aid — expected to be around 566 million dinars ($798 million). Ississ added that projected public expenditure for 2021 will be around 9.39 billion dinars ($13.2 billion), an increase of 6% compared with the 2020 budget.
