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Reuters
AMMAN
Jordanian Prime Minister Omar al-Razzaz announced a cabinet reshuffle on Thursday as the government looks to push through reforms intended to revive stagnant economic growth and cut public expenditure.
Razzaz, a former World Bank economist, was appointed by King Abdullah in June to replace Hani al-Mulki, who resigned to defuse a crisis that saw some of the largest protests in years over planned IMF-driven austerity measures, including tax hikes.
In an apparent bid to calm widespread discontent over rising economic hardship Razzaz - who had said he would re-evaluate his team after 100 days in office - reduced the 29-member cabinet to 27.
But he also kept key ministries - notably the interior, finance and foreign portfolios - unchanged, and has warned Jordan would pay a heavy price if a tax reform bill failed to pass into law this year.
Razzaz had angered unions and civic bodies when he introduced the IMF-inspired bill in (month), making only cosmetic changes to one that brought down Mulki.
Seen as a better communicator than his predecessor, Razzaz had promised to restore public trust in a country where many blame successive governments for failing to deliver on pledges of reviving growth that is stuck at around 2 percent, cutting waste and curbing corruption.
