(MENAFN- Alghad Newspaper) The timing of the briefing offered by the by the Chairman of the Royal Jordanian (RJ) airlines, Nasser al-Lozi, to the Cabinet is important, which centralized around the latest developments relating to the company, including plans and fix the problems they face. It came after a brief meeting of RJ's General Assembly, and ahead of an awaited visit by the Lebanese investor Najib Mikati to the kingdom today.
The government aired a story about the meeting, stressing its commitment to RJ, and supported, implicitly, the company. This may be a compensation for the neglect by the government to this sensitive file for a long time, for fear of making a decision about it. However, the news / statement did not explains what the government is thinking; the talk was too generic, without touching upon the options of the government for the support of the national carrier.
The General Assembly meeting was held three days ago, after being delayed for months. Its issues were not a surprise; some of the criticism levelled by some shareholders, each for their own reasons, but as a whole they expressed concern over the fate of the company, which suffered big losses during the past years.
But more importantly, in the meeting, the management of RJ explained in great detail the reasons that caused the loss, and provided factual information about many of the outstanding issues, and those concerning strategic plans to be implemented by the company to deal with the challenges, as the decisions and reforms that will be taken.
The stance has not changed after the General Assembly's meeting, the fate of the national carrier is still unknown. All that came in the regular meeting revolved around restructuring plans and achieveable reforms, as part of the solution to the dilemma.
A government source familiar with the matter confirms that Mikati will be today in Amman to discuss possible solutions. Information indicates that Mikati understands, and it is possible to accept a rescue plan proposed based on capital increase, provided that the company offers positive results in the coming years.
The only practical scenario, and therefore the most important, is the decision made years ago, but has not been implemented, and is based on increasing the company's capital by 150 million dinars distributed in two phases. But the government continues to evade the implementation of this scenario.
Today, the government is re-thinking, and is revisiting its decision regarding the capital increase that is expected to be approved by the rest of the shareholders, including the Lebanese investor, to save RJ, and also as a big step in alleviating the financial predicament, which the company is going through.
Theoretically, the solution is clear, and is that the company operates on commercial basis, rather than being used by the security and political work powers. But the important question: Is this option executable in a country like Jordan? Maybe such an option becomes fictional under the rapid changes experienced by the region, not the least what happened most recently in Yemen, after the Houthis control over the country.
Delays in decision-making has been a criticism levelled to officials of the second and third grades. But when it is practiced by the prime minister, it is an issue that needs to be explained; tough decisions should not be subjected some people's moodiness, especially as the government of Dr. Abdullah Ensour is not seeking popularity, as the government says.
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