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Outcast: No more free oil for Jordan; Prices hiked by 33 percent
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SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
AMMAN — Jordan, left without free oil from its Arab allies, has
raised the price of fuel by up to 33 percent.
The Hashemite kingdom imposed the third significant price increase on
gasoline, fuel oil, kerosene and natural gas since 2003 when the United
States toppled the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq.
Saddam had provided about
half of Jordan's oil needs for free, and for about a year after the Iraq
war, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates allocated 100,000
barrels per day of free oil to Amman.
"Although the decision will not be popular it is inevitable because we
cannot achieve economic reform while the budget suffers from a huge deficit
and soaring oil prices," Jordanian Prime Minister Adnan Badran said in a
statement.
The Jordanian Cabinet also decided to raise government salaries as well
as the minimum wage. Officials said this was meant to offset the impact of
the fuel increase.
Copyright © 2005 East West
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