MP Talaat Khalil, a member of the Planning and Budget Committee in the House of Representatives, said that he would request an inquiry against Prime Minister Sherif Ismail on the spending of EGP 490m by the Specialized National Councils to purchase goods and services during the fiscal year (FY) 2015/16.
Khalil told Daily News Egypt that he will ask Ismail how the government spent these funds, and what the goods and services purchased by the Specialized National Councils are.
He pointed out that the salaries of the councils’ employees reached EGP 6.95m in FY 2015/16.
Current circumstances require nationalisation of governments expenditures to prevent waste of resources, Khalel added.
The government seeks to reduce the total deficit in the state budget to 9% through a group of economic decisions, including the increase of prices of fuel, electricity, and some state services.
President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi issued a presidential decree, No. 60 of 2015, to establish four specialised councils that directly report back to him.
The councils will focus on economic development; foreign policy and national security; education and scientific research; and community development.
Each of these councils shall be headed by an independent legal personality. Additional councils could potentially be established by another presidential decree. Each shall consist of a number of members with scientific and practical expertise in the council’s activities.
The president must also choose the managing coordinator for each group. In case Al-Sisi is present in any of the councils’ meetings, he would chair the council.
Al-Sisi issued a decision in March, tasking Kamal Gad Saad to supervise the General Secretariat of the Specialized National Councils.
