The House of Representatives’ Industry Committee objected to raising the allocations for consultancy and research within the Ministry of Industry in the next fiscal year to EGP 266m.
Sources told Daily News Egypt that the increase in allocations to this amount means an increase in wages of consultants at the ministry during the next fiscal year. This comes at a time when the government is suffering from a lack of revenue and the inability to raise allocations within the ministries of Education, Scientific Research, Health, and Pre-University Education to 10% of the gross domestic product (GDP).
This amount is particularly large as the ministry’s total allocation is worth almost EGP 560m, which means that more than 40% of this amount is for the wages of consultants and researchers. This is according to sources who also said that they asked the Ministry of Finance to provide a detailed statement of the allocations to and spending by the Ministry of Industry.
They further said that the state’s general budget is EGP 949.6bn while revenues are EGP 635.3bn, resulting in a cash deficit of EGP 314.3bn. This is while the overall deficit of the draft budget is EGP 323bn, equivalent to 9.9% of GDP.
The government estimated the GDP at EGP 3.2tr, with growth rate up to 5.5%.
Sources added that the Industry Committee also asked for a statement about the cost of providing facilities (basic utilities to lands) and their map during the current fiscal year, in light of the allocation of EGP 400m to the Industrial Development Authority.
They further stated that the committee recommended increasing allocations to the chemistry administration in order to buy modern equipment to keep pace with technological developments. This will enable the administration to perform its own role in overseeing food imports to maintain Egyptians’ health.
