During his public speech in Assiut, President Morsy announced his intention to open a special bank account through which he calls upon the “corrupt” to return stolen money to the country and asks Egyptians to donate to his Nahda (renaissance) Project.
The special bank account of Morsy’s controversial project will be under the complete supervision of the central bank, as one of the main governmental bank accounts. President Morsy thinks of the bank account as a method through which figures of the old regime would find it easier to return stolen funds, explaining the door of Tawba (expressing remorse in Islam) is always open. The plan has had little support in opposition circles, for its extrajudicial implications.
“Whoever took agricultural land and used it for construction or manipulation or bribery, the door is open to return from that. But, the legal and patriotic rights have to go back to its owners. Consensus does not prevent punishment,” said Morsy. Stressing in his speech his firm intentions to stop all corruption, the president went as far as saying he would not fear calling for a “second revolution” to root out corruption.
Another objective of opening the bank account is to invite ordinary Egyptians to contribute to the Nahda project. The account allows Egyptians abroad to transfer money in an attempt to help in economic prosperity. In a press statement issued by the Ministry of Finance, Minister Momtaz Al-Saeed explained that several Egyptian expatriates have expressed to President Morsy, during his trips, their desire to send savings to Egypt.
“The government has responded to this request and decided to open this special account with easy digits for them to remember,” said Al-Saeed in the press statement.
The minister confirmed that the Nahda bank account will be heavily monitored, mainly the Ministry of Finance and Central Accounting Authority. “We will announce the exact balance of the account and which fields will the amounts be allocated to improve the Egyptian economy.”