(MENAFN- Jordan Times) A group of deputies on Wednesday withdrew their support for a proposal to refer all cases of suspected corruption currently being investigated by House committees to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
During yesterday's Lower House session, 45 MPs withdrew their signatures from a memorandum they had previously signed along with 30 other deputies to request that all allegations of corruption currently under investigation by committees be referred to the ACC, provided that they do not involve ministers or former premiers.
A deputy involved in the move told The Jordan Times on condition of anonymity that the 45 deputies decided to withdraw their signatures "deeply" believing that if these cases are referred to the ACC, then the "innocent will become guilty and the guilty will turn innocent".
He said the memo was meant to help MPs focus more on legislating instead of investigating suspicions of corruption.
"But having seen the results of the investigations, especially the one into the privatisation of the phosphate company, we became more and more convinced that we had been misled by some parties who managed to dismantle the investigative committees and bury the secrets so far uncovered."
With the withdrawal of the signatures, the memorandum is virtually "dead" because, according to a House by-law, no decision will be passed unless approved by 61 votes, the lawmaker noted.
The MP, who is a member of the investigation panel into the privatisation of the phosphate company, noted that the panel found that several violations were allegedly committed by two former governments in the privatisation of the mining firm.
Moreover, he explained that the phosphate firm was sold to a "shell company" which does not actually do any business or have any real assets.
He added that a former premier took a decision to privatise the phosphate company although several ministers in his administration refused to approve the deal, stressing that "the entire agreement was unconstitutional".
"When we listened to testimonies of former ministers involved in the case, they kept blaming each other, saying: 'It was not my fault. Ask the other minister'," he said.
While MPs were leaving the hall for a 15-minute break, tension erupted under the Dome when two deputies started shouting at a minister, accusing him of corruption and selling the country's assets.
Southern Badia MPs Awwad Zawaydeh and Mohammad Maraayeh accused Minister of Water and Irrigation Mousa Jamani of illegally and unethically issuing, when he was secretary general of the Jordan Valley Authority, "special land-use permits to influential persons to invest in agriculture lands near the Disi aquifer in the southern region.
The House was scheduled yesterday to look into a memorandum signed by 36 MPs requesting a vote of no confidence in Jamani but it was not discussed because priority was given to debate the teachers' strike (see story on page 3).
Also during Wednesday's session, deputies endorsed the amendments to the 2012 land transportation draft law.
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