12 - 18 April 2001
Issue No.529
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 12 - 18 April 2001 Issue No.529 |
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Prime minister strikes back
Despite an unusually heated bout of criticism, the NDP-dominated parliament came out overwhelmingly in favour of the government's policy statement. Gamal Essam El-Din rounds up months of debate
Prime Minister Atef Ebeid and his cabinet were well assured on Monday when, despite months of criticism, parliamentarians threw their support behind this year's policy statement, delivered by Ebeid on 22 January. Of the 384 deputies who took the floor to deliver their final comments and remarks, 19 deputies (up this year from between 10 and 12 in previous years) came out against the statement, People's Assembly Speaker Fathi Sorour noted.
Some of the criticism made by prominent MPs against the January statement has been surprisingly biting, but the meeting Monday was undoubtedly a vote of confidence for Ebeid and his cabinet. Ebeid brushed off his detractors, saying that "criticism is easy, because it doesn't cost anything, and requires no action." He suggested that some people are so pleased to be able to express their dissent, they do so for its own sake.
Ebeid began his remarks by emphasising Egypt's unprecedented scope of political reform -- probably because so many MPs have lamented the statement's failure to address the topic. Addressing parliament, Ebeid dared his listeners to claim that the last 25 years have not been the most robust in the arena of political reform. The prime minister also lingered on the issue of economic progress, citing the positive outlook presented in two recent reports by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) with respect to the shortage of foreign currency, servicing foreign debt and falling inflation. Ebeid noted that the reports put Egypt's growth rate last year at 5 per cent, adding that the two major international financial institutions expected a slight rise this year as well.
Ebeid fended off accusations that the market is going into recession by asserting that the current market downturn is part of a larger economic slowdown that has plagued many countries in recent years. On the delicate issue of reform in the banking sector, Ebeid asserted that regardless of any criticism, Egyptian banks still "stand in a secure position", and are effectively supervised by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).
Ebeid stressed we have seen the worst of the so-called liquidity crisis, saying levels of market cash liquidity are back to where they were in 1999. He touched some nerves by refusing to detail the privatisation programme, but nonetheless promised that one third of the proceeds generated by privatisation will be set apart for streamlining the operations of industrial public sector companies.
Strong criticism of Ebeid's statement was spearheaded by Zakaria Azmi, a leading member of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) and chief of the presidential staff. Azmi raised a few eyebrows with his direct and untempered criticism of Ebeid. "Although a year and a half has passed since you came to office," Azmi said, "the confidence between your government and the people still stands on shaky ground." Azmi's prominent position in the NDP encouraged many deputies to go to unprecedented levels in their criticism.
Dissenting voices came from three opposition parties, the leftist Tagammu, the Wafd and the Liberal parties, as well as five independents. One of the independents, El-Sayed Hozayen, is a member of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. Former Wafd party representative Ayman Nour accused Ebeid's policy statement of being "rife with fallacies and deceptions". Going further, Nour remarked, "Everyone now knows that this government has more words than deeds to offer." Independent MP Mohamed Farid Hassanein, who, like Nour, was dismissed from the Wafd Party by chairman Noaman Goma'a, agreed that "inefficiency is the major characteristic of this government. The prime reason for this is that it is controlled by a record number of old guard ministers."
Before listening to Ebeid's response, the Assembly approved a 1974 law that gives President Mubarak a further three-year mandate for concluding secret military purchases in cases of urgency and necessity.
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