The People's Assembly may have made a lot of noise over the last five years but that is not the same as acting as an efficient watchdog, reports Gamal Essam El-Din On 22 June the People's Assembly went into summer recess, concluding the last session of the current parliament. Polls are scheduled next November to elect a new assembly. The session ended with a routine exchange of thanks between the assembly and the government and praise for their "fruitful cooperation in the service of the people". Assembly speaker Fathi Sorour commended "the constructive and serious cooperation between the House and the government in informing public opinion and finding solutions to the everyday problems faced by Egyptians". "Cabinet ministers also made themselves available to answer questions raised by MPs on a wide range of public issues," said Sorour. Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif heaped praise on the assembly for "helping push the government's reform agenda forward". "The series of economic and social reform draft laws submitted by the government and approved by the assembly helped immunise our economy to the many global shocks of the last five years," said Nazif. In his 22 June address to the assembly Sorour recited a long list of achievements. In legislative terms the assembly had passed 140 laws. "Thirty-five of these covered economic, social and political affairs and 105 dealt with financial and budgetary matters," said Sorour. The number of laws approved in 2009-2010's session was, he said, evidence of the assembly's vitality, its close connection with society and its ability to respond to the needs of a broad base of citizens. Sorour cited new laws regulating the insurance and pension systems and organ transplants as a "social leap forward in the interest of poor and limited- income citizens". Political pundits, opposition and independent MPs saw things differently. They took speaker Sorour and MPs from the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) to task for pushing legislation through the House without enough time for discussion. Muslim Brotherhood MP Hussein Ibrahim cited the government's decision to submit new social solidarity legislation to the assembly hours before it adjourned for the summer recess as evidence of the government continuing to treat the assembly as a rubber stamping mechanism. "Yet again we were asked to pass a law without any serious discussion," said Ibrahim. That the NDP used its overwhelming parliamentary majority to reject popular amendments proposed by opposition and independent MPs, including one seeking to halt the sale of Egyptian natural gas to Israel is, says Ibrahim, symptomatic of the assembly's subservience to the government and NDP agenda. While Sorour noted that the assembly had approved five out of 94 laws proposed by MPs and "welcomed legislative contributions offered by members" Ibrahim points out that the five successful submissions were all made by NDP MPs, with the influential business tycoon and chairman of the Budget Committee Ahmed Ezz topping the list. Sorour praised the assembly as an objective and enlightened watchdog over the government. MPs, he said, had submitted 138 questions and 1,220 requests for information from government ministers and delivered 1,253 urgent statements on serious issues. "The assembly also discussed 39 interpellations [questions that must be answered by cabinet ministers] exposing a number of financial irregularities and shedding light on policy failures." Twelve of the interpellations, he added, covered the health sector, 10 addressed environmental issues while nine concerned education. Sorour's figures failed to impress opposition and independent MPs. They accused the speaker of manipulating interpellations to protect the government from any serious criticism. Wafdist MP Mohamed Abdel-Alim complained that "interpellations, the most serious tool available to MPs, were treated by Sorour in a way designed to prevent NDP-affiliated cabinet ministers facing embarrassing questions". "Three interpellations about the costs to the state of medical treatment in the US granted to Minister of Finance Youssef Boutros Ghali, the wife of Minister of Health Hatem El-Gabali, and former parliamentary affairs minister and NDP heavyweight Kamal El-Shazli, are a case in point. They were shelved by Sorour for no justifiable reason." Abdel-Alim also noted that moves to "form a fact-finding committee to investigate allegations that NDP MPs had abused funds allocated by the Ministry of Health for medical treatment to the poor" were also shelved by Sorour. NDP Secretary-General Safwat El-Sherif denies that any NDP MPs had abused health funds. "NDP MPs did not receive any funds in cash. They exercised their influence to direct large sums of the state funding towards offering medical treatment to poor citizens living in their constituencies. As everyone knows, the popularity of an MP depends on the number of services he can offer to his constituents, and at what cost," said El-Sherif. Assessing the performance of the assembly over its five-year -- 2005 to 2010 -- lifespan, Sorour predicted that "history will record that it had passed the greatest number of constitutional reforms in 40 years". In tandem, he said, the assembly had endorsed an unprecedented number of political laws, including important new legislation on the exercise of political rights, regulating political parties and allocating a quota of 64 seats in the next parliament for women. In supervisory terms, Sorour said the 2005 to 2010 parliament had discussed 145 interpellations, 6,000 information requests, 8,736 urgent statements, 938 questions and formed three fact-finding commissions. Socio-economic issues, including the impact of privatisation policies and rises in food prices, had dominated the 2005 to 2010 parliament, with political and foreign policy taking a back seat. Commentators argue that despite the large number of opposition and independent MPs -- they occupied a quarter of the assembly seats -- in the 2005 to 2010 parliament, parliament's supervisory role remained negligible. "While it is true that the 88 Brotherhood MPs and some independents managed to enliven parliamentary debates and raise embarrassing issues, the fact remains that just like its predecessors, the NDP-dominated 2005/2010 assembly was toothless, always toeing the government line and following the NDP's agenda," says Al-Ahram political analyst Amr Hashem Rabie. "The influence of NDP business tycoon MPs was the singular most striking feature of the parliament." Rabie singled out Ahmed Ezz, multi-billionaire steel magnate, NDP secretary for organisational affairs, and chairman of the assembly's Budget Committee, as "the businessman who exercised the most powerful influence over parliament". Rabie believes that the NDP's super wealthy business class will consolidate its influence in the next parliament. "The fact that so many NDP businessmen MPs in the 2005 to 2010 parliament were found guilty of financial malpractice, corruption and peddling influence for their own profit does not mean there will be fewer in the next parliament," says Rabie. "This increasingly powerful class, whose power is a reflection of the dominance of market economy policies, will not stop seeking parliamentary immunity and political cover for their business interests."
