Cabinet approves L.E. 187 billion state budget
Egypt, Economics, 4/29/2005

The Egyptian Cabinet late on Wednesday approved a state budget proposal as well as the tentative investment plan for the FY 2005-2006, Cabinet Spokesman Magdi Radi said.

The budget, taking into consideration the social dimension, observed continuity of subsidy offered to low-income brackets. The budget expected that the revenues will hit nearly L.E. 130 billion so the deficit will reach nearly L.E. 57 billion.

Radi said that the Cabinet approved a L.E. 187.8 billion budget proposal, which Minister of Finance Youssef Boutrus Ghali had presented to the Prime Minister.

In the meantime, the government agreed on a L.E. 110 billion investment plan designed to increase the nation's economic growth rate from 4.8 per cent to 6 per cent during the new fiscal year, Radi said.

The plan aims to inject L.E. 110 billion into the investment sector in order to develop public services across the nation with a special focus on the Upper Egyptian provinces. The Cabinet will refer the two proposals to the upper and lower houses of parliament for debate and approval.

The new investment plan 2005-2006 envisages providing about 700000 new jobs. The Egyptian private sector will shoulder implementation of 62 per cent of the new plan's investments. Investments worth L.E. 17.4 billion will be executed by the governmental and publics sector authorities.

The Cabinet also approved three new draft laws concerning political practices which will be submitted to the Shura Council and People's Assembly for debate and final approval. Cabinet Spokesman Magdi Radi said that the first bill includes amendments t

ÊÊÊ According to the proposed amendments, any new party should not bear a name similar to any already existing party, while it does not have to commit itself to the principles of the July 1952 Revolution or the May 1971 Correction Revolution.

Other conditions are that the party must not be a branch of a foreign political party or organizations, while there must be at least 1,000 signed-up founder members, up from the current 50. The draft law excluded the justice minister from the formation of the parties committee. It stipulates the creation of any party shall be valid once its founders notify the committee. Moreover, it entitled any party to issue two newspapers without getting license from the authorities concerned.

The Cabinet has also approved introducing a new chapter in the law on Political Rights that will provide for the formation of a new higher committee to supervise the election process.

The committee will announce the results of elections, instead of the Minster of the Interior.

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