Greater Irbid Municipality denounced the attempts led by some social media pages to turn achievement into failure and distort facts regarding its decision to write off a number of vehicles and machinery that had been out of service for many years, which were incurring exorbitant annual financial costs on the municipality's treasury for licensing and insurance, pointing out that those pages resorted to publishing one of the cancelled financial receipts to mislead public opinion.
In a press release today, the municipality emphasized that it had previously announced this procedure with full transparency across various media outlets, considering it a strategic decision that serves the public interest and achieves significant financial savings directed directly towards improving the reality of services and infrastructure in various areas of the city.
Clarifying the procedural details, the municipality stated that since the municipal committee took over its duties, it has worked on a comprehensive review of the roadworthiness of all machinery and the possibility of utilizing them through specialized inspection committees. It pointed out that after transferring the vehicles that could not be operated to the General Department of Customs, the write-off committee suspected that the engines of some of those machinery had been replaced in previous years with uncustomed ones without specifying a date.
It added that out of its keenness to complete legal procedures properly and protect public funds, all engines were sent to the General Department of Customs, which in turn referred the file to the Customs Court to rule on the committee's suspicions of tampering with engine numbers, affirming that the case is currently pending before the Customs Prosecutor General for a ruling.
The municipality revealed that an initial decision was made to fine it 21,000 Jordanian Dinars in lieu of missing parts, but as a result of the relentless efforts and follow-up by the municipality's administration, the fine was officially reduced to only 14,000 Dinars, and the amount was paid in accordance with established legal and financial procedures.
The municipality concluded its statement by emphasizing that the net financial savings achieved and to be generated in the future from writing off these dilapidated machinery and stopping the payment of their licensing and insurance costs far exceed the amount of the fine that was paid, stressing its absolute commitment to protecting public funds and halting any financial waste that does not serve the people of Irbid.
