CAIRO: Price hikes, municipal corruption, public debt accumulation and the spread of counterfeit products in the market, were among 22 setbacks highlighted in the Central Auditing Agency's (CAA) latest report, fueling controversy in the People's Assembly. "No one [government officials] has responded to the practices of [oligopoly] or restriction of sale of some commodities to raise prices, which causes destabilizes the market and prohibits the middle class from coping with inflation, said Gawdat El-Malt, head of the CAA, in a parliamentary session. "The government did not respond to all the setbacks I referred to [in the report], which include frailty of commodity trade with Arab states [which led to] a $514 million deficit in trade with these countries, and that Egypt's trade ties with 43 African countries represent only one percent of the volume of trade exchange, he continued. The CAA's latest report monitors and evaluates the Cabinet's performance during the years 2006 and 2007. The report underlines several positive facts such as high growth levels, soaring investment flows and other facts that were well-received by Cabinet members present in the parliamentary session. On the other hand, the report criticizes the government for overlooking issues such as price upsurges - especially in essential commodities like fruits, vegetables and medicine - the low quality of education and medical services, public debt increase (which has so far reached a staggering LE 800 billion) and deterioration of agriculture. The report has also allegedly stated that the Tax Authority neglected to collect millions of pounds from large tax payers. Members of Cabinet present during parliament's discussion of the report were not satisfied with the CAA's criticism of the government and claimed the agency was looking at the half-empty glass. Youssef Botrous Ghali, minister of finance, was harshly criticized the report, saying the conclusions were unfounded and called El-Malt a representative of the World Bank and not the CAA. The remark triggered a war of words between El-Malt and Ghali, who was quick to point out that while Egypt suffers from a trade deficit with Africa, it enjoys a trade surplus with other countries. El-Malt took the snide remark personally, accusing Ghali of slandering and defaming him instead of objectively responding to the report s findings. "Do [government officials] want to say that the picture is rosey, and that there are no setbacks? El-Malt asked during the discussion. He went on to explain that he used the World Bank's figures in the report because several government officials applauded the bank's recent findings, boasting the fact that Egypt was the top African country - and the second Arab country - in investment flows. "Are these ministers also World Bank representatives? he wondered, and then demanded Ghali's remark be stricken from the records of the proceedings. He also asked for a direct apology from the minister. Parliament members were divided over whether Ghali should apologize, and in the end, he did not offer a direct apology, only saying that his remarks were not personally directed towards El-Malt. He also agreed to have his comment stricken from the record. El-Malt went on to say that he was not an opposition leader; on the contrary, he performed his duties under the state. The report, he said, did not neglect to mention the current government's good performance. However, he added, the results of this performance did not trickle-down, and there were several setbacks in the system that could not be overlooked. After the parliamentary session, some 47 MPs (from opposition parties) demanded the report be raised to the attorney general.
