Setting the record straight!

This is a post that I have been itching to write for quite sometime.

In the spirit of “A person who does not speak out against the wrong is a mute devil”, I feel compelled to write about a story that I am personally fully aware of and that has gone too far in its absurdity and mutiny.

This is the story of Najwa Tourism and Investment Company (NTIC).

The story began with Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) calling for investments in areas falling under its jurisdiction. The idea of the Golden Triangle was heavily promoted by ASEZA, where Aqaba, Wadi Rum, and Petra would form a touristic haven for Southern Jordan showcasing the beauty and uniqueness of that area.

In 2006 NTIC approached ASEZA and proposed a multi-million dinar touristic project in Wadi Rum. A plot of land was identified and agreed on. A big signing ceremony took place with ASEZA announcing what would be the first-of-its-kind resort in Wadi Rum.

What followed later sounds more like a nightmare than a preparation for an exciting project promising growth and development in an area that desperately needs it.

As NTIC embarked on extensive and costly exercises aimed at producing designs of the highest quality that are responsible and that safeguard the integrity and beauty of the area; while others were busy conniving with only one aim: to sabotage and undermine every effort of this investment company. The tactics they resorted to ranged from intimidation, to cheap shots aimed at the owners of this company, culminating with an act of outright violence against a group of individuals who were on site to carry out needed tasks to proceed with the execution of the intended works.

This latest act of aggression went unreported. The aggressed were urged not to file any report or complaint in fear of retaliation. The hooligans who decided to take matters into their own hands and to blatantly break the law went unpunished. When calls for accountability and protection were made, they all fell on deaf ears. To date, the incident has been ignored, even though all those concerned in the security and safety aparatus of the country were fully aware of it.

The end result was that NTIC along with several other investors called off their plans to develop projects in Wadi Rum. The area was simply unsafe and under no control. The absence of the rule of law and the prevalence of the law of the jungle had definitely deterred many from venturing into any meaningful development of Wadi Rum.

Today I read on one of the online news services that NTIC has sold the land in question to a Saudi investor for millions of dinars. A fabricated story that is nothing but a continuation of the web of lies that has surrounded any meaningful effort to do anything of substance in Wadi Rum.

As I read this story I wondered until when will we be held hostages for petty politics and mediocre media reporting? The reporter in this online story did not even bother to check out his/her sources let alone the resources of the story such as the image shown of the owner that belongs to a complete stranger, but then again an obvious attempt to add flare to a bogus story.

Here I must add a caveat that I have no personal interest in NTIC whatsoever. By being privy to the specifics of the design I developed great respect towards the sincerity and dedication with which the intended project was approached. NTIC went through all the proper channels in answering the calls for investment by ASEZA. NTIC spared no effort in hiring the best to deliver what they hoped would be a master piece complimenting the beauty of the area without competing with it. NTIC stuck to their end of the deal. They put their money where their mouth is. The inability of ASEZA to secure the very basics that any investor looks for, and that is the assurance of the rule of law serves only at robbing ASEZA of any credibility and weight in its calls to invite investors on board.

What ASEZA did in leaving NTIC fend for itself while it was fully aware of the specifics of the grievances faced by NTIC throughout the project development process shows incompetence and shortsightedness in the way it handles its affairs.

I wonder what excuse ASEZA has in totally turning a blind eye to what is obviously a terrible breakdown in its chain of command. Until we get clear answers, and until it gets to exercise its authority fair and square, I suggest we replace the last “A” in ASEZA to anything but Authority.

Finally, what happened with NTIC and the other investors planning to venture in Wadi Rum might have been a small setback for any investment company. However, the biggest losers out of such chaos are not the companies who can freely take their investments elsewhere, but are the very residents of the areas where the private interests of a corrupt few are arresting the development of their entire communities.