Egypt’s Minister of Finance, Mohamed Maait, said that the country’s economic targets are not just figures, but rather executive policies and programmes that aim to improve the lives of citizens, according to a Monday’s statement from the Ministry of Finance.
It came during a virtual meeting between Maait and heads of sectors and departments at the Ministry of Finance, on ways to develop the sector’s performance and turn current challenges into opportunities that stimulates creativity, innovation, and job excellence. The meeting was part of the annual forum to review and develop the Ministry’s strategic plan.
The meeting also discussed the optimal utilisation of technological solutions to contribute to achieving economic targets in a sustainable manner, according to the statement.
The minister said: “We do not want to start over the economic reform after the novel coronavirues (COVID-19) pandemic. Therefore, serious work and concerted government efforts must be continued in order to keep implementing targeted structural reforms and supporting growth, and preserve the gains we have achieved.”
Maait stressed the necessity of effective communication with workers in different sectors and holding periodic meetings with them. This aims to establish them as one team within an institutional framework that ensures expertise exchange and capacity building.
The Minister also directed to continue strengthening the governance of expenditure and revenue procedures in administrative agencies, in order to ensure the utmost accuracy and protection for financial operations, the collection of the state’s dues, and the optimal use of financial allocations in a way that maximises the state’s resources.
Ahmed Kouchouk, Deputy Finance Minister for Financial Policies and Institutional Development, said the economic reforms implemented during the past years gave the government resilience in facing COVID-19 repercussions. He stressed that the government is continuing with structural reforms in a way that achieves comprehensive and sustainable development.
He added that the Ministry of Finance achieved remarkable success in implementing the Government Financial Management Information System (GFMIS), and linking it to the GPS-based electronic payment and collection system and the treasury single account (TSA). This helped raise the efficiency of public spending in various administrative agencies.
He stated that the electronic transformation of the state’s general budget has contributed to supporting financial performance, tightening control over expenditures, and preserving the targeted budget deficit. The new system has also provided accurate, instantaneous data on the performance of all budgets in ministries, governorates, and universities.
