Austerity economic measures in Jordan to cut expenditures

The Jordanian government has taken a series of tough measures aimed at guiding public expenditures as a result of the critical economic condition in Jordan, and in light of the state's limited financial resources.

These measures include limiting travel abroad for official delegations and committees to only the most necessary and important events, reducing the number of official delegations sent aboard, and limiting expenditures on formal banquets, minimizing the number of these banquets and the number of invitees.

These measures also include less frequent changing of the furniture in official buildings and monitoring the consumption of water, electricity and fuel.

Meanwhile, Jordanian Prime Minister Abdul Raouf al-Rawabdeh has asked in a statement for members of his government and official departments to reduce current expenditures in their budgets for 1999 by 5%.