Jordan: Court reverses Water Ministry's decision to transfer top official

The Higher Court of Justice has reinstated a top Water and Irrigation MinistryWater and Irrigation MinistryLoading... official who had been transferred following a recent water contamination incident, officials said.

Ahmad Rjoub, who serves as assistant secretary general of the Water Authority for the Northern Region, was transferred to the ministry's headquarters after his name appeared on a list of health and water officials implicated in the case which saw hundreds of villagers treated for fever and diarrhoea in Mansheyet Bani Hassan, near Mafraq.

In September, the Cabinet endorsed the recommendations of a government-commissioned panel that investigated the case and recommended that eight officials, including Rjoub, should appear before disciplinary councils at their respective ministries.

he government panel's report concluded that in light of the data collected, there had been a clear breach of responsibilities on the part of officials in charge of water in Mafraq and the Northern Region, and of health officials in Mafraq.

When the case came to light in the media, in August, ministers of water and health, Thafer Alem and Saad Kharabsheh, respectively, submitted their resignations, accepting "moral responsibility" for the pollution which caused health problems to more than 1,000 residents in the area.

Water Authority Secretary General Munther Khleifat was sent into retirement, and Mafraq Water Department Director Anas Haliq was sent into early retirement.