From Jordan Times: Casino case and muzzling the media

It happens all over:

From Jordan Times: Casino case and muzzling the media

By DAOUD KUTTAB
JORDAN TIMES
The Jordanian public has been mesmerized these past weeks with the casino case debate in parliament, in which senior government officials have been charged with a variety of administrative errors and crimes. The 70-page detailed report faults 33 individuals, including the prime minister, with wrongdoing. But while the parliament and country have been focused on the actions of the first Bakhit government, a much more serious strategic problem was revealed in these findings.

A close read of the report shows a dysfunctional, chaotic system surrounding the prime ministry. The detailed report of the parliamentary committee exposes a haphazard institution which lacks basic checks and balances needed for the proper functioning of a government. It is not clear whether some of the problems present during the first Bakhit government continue today.

From these interactions springs the need for serious reform in the way government functions and the continuation of media reform in order to allow the latter to be the watchdog of the government.

Much the same might be said of the media silence about the closed door meetings on Beacon Hill.