The prime minister is a leading target of the criticism being levelled at the government by parliament this session. Gamal Essam El-Din reports Prime Minister Atef Ebeid is scheduled to deliver his government's annual policy statement to parliament later this month. The policy package, as outlined by Ebeid during a meeting with the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) Policy Secretariat led by Gamal Mubarak, includes a host of controversial bills that the government would like to see passed by parliament during its current 8-month session. While parliament will get down to business on Saturday, grappling with some of these bills, Ebeid is already facing a barrage of criticism, including calls for his resignation. Ebeid reacted to his detractors with defiance, telling the press that he refuses "to listen to those who insist on being negative as they search out ways to defame their country". Interestingly, the harshest criticism levelled against Ebeid came from two former prime ministers: Aziz Sedki and Abdel- Aziz Hegazi. Sedki, Egypt's prime minister during the October 1973 war, said the government's poor performance is unprecedented. "Why do we insist on keeping some cabinet ministers in their posts for years even after their failures become clear to all," Sedki told the Press Syndicate's Economic Committee. Renowned for his role in establishing the Industry Ministry in 1956, Sedki also said the government was rampant with corruption. "Cabinet ministers are now profiteering from their posts without any sense of shame, or fear of punishment," he said. In an interview with Al-Ahram Al- Iktisadi magazine, Hegazi, Egypt's prime minister in 1975, said the government's performance needed a far greater level of transparency. Generally touted as "the godfather" of Egypt's infitah (open-door) economic policies, Hegazi said that "Ebeid must stop making promises in his policy statement, and concentrate on providing a true picture of the economic situation while adopting a tougher stance against corrupt businessmen." Defending himself, Ebeid said Sedki and Hegazi were "looking at the empty half of the cup". The prime minister urged the two former PMs to read recent World Bank and IMF (International Monetary Fund) reports about Egypt, which, he said, "do not tell lies". Ebeid said the government is currently setting up an "early warning system" aimed at eradicating corruption at its roots. "But," he said, "you cannot achieve a 100 per cent victory over corruption because evil is part of our everyday life." Ebeid also proffered an open invitation to both Sedki and Hegazi to visit "those parts of Egypt's economic map that have witnessed brilliant revival and progress". Ebeid said he was certain both Sedki and Hegazi would change their minds as a result. Levelled by two senior ex-officials, the attacks on Ebeid were bound to echo in parliament. Between 35 and 40 opposition and independent MPs have tabled a motion asking that Ebeid be summoned to parliament to answer questions on a host of issues. These include the grave deterioration in the availability of public services, rising unemployment, and a relentless stream of misleading statements and statistics being fed to the public. Mohamed Qiwita, an independent MP with Nasserist sympathies, told Al-Ahram Weekly that "Ebeid will lose his last shred of credibility if he dares to deliver yet more rosy and misleading statements [in his forthcoming policy statement]." The assembly is currently debating the draft of new labour law, one of the most controversial in the government's package. The 259-article legislation, which is supposed to regulate the relationship between employers and workers in a market economy, has already been witness to a week of debates featuring an exchange of accusations between leftist deputies and Ahmed El-Ammawi, the minister of manpower. The leftist MPs allege that the new bill is slanted in favour of business, giving employers sweeping powers -- such as the right to lay off workers, reduce their wages and close down businesses without prior notice -- at the expense of social peace. El- Ammawi defended the government, saying it was only acting as "a coordinator between workers and businessmen" in an attempt to ensure that the bill was as balanced as possible. "The bill," El-Ammawi said, "reflects the country's recent economic developments -- labour relations in a market economy cannot be governed by socialist-oriented laws". On Saturday, the assembly is also scheduled to debate the controversial Telecommunicatio ns Bill. The Shura Council, parliament's consultative upper house, approved the 92- article bill two weeks ago, but only after article 65 was revamped in a way that restricts national security agencies' rights to eavesdrop on citizens. The article had been attacked by leftist member Rifaat El-Said as a threat to civil liberties, and was subsequently modified so that wire tapping had to first be approved by the judiciary. In general, the bill aims at modernising the telecommunications sector, putting it on the fast track towards privatisation. Another big issue set to come under close parliamentary scrutiny this session is the economic assistance provided by the United States to Egypt. A recent report by parliament's economic committee indicates that between 1975 and the present day, 232 loan and grant agreements have been signed between Egypt and the US. "These have provided Egypt with as much as LE24 billion in economic assistance," according to the report. The problem, in the eyes of several opposition and independent MPs, is that post 11 September, the Bush Administration has attempted to wrangle additional political gains from its foreign economic assistance. Even NDP deputy Emad El-Galada, a businessman with economic interests in Iraq, argues that "the Americans tend to remind us of the economic assistance issue whenever Egypt's policies do not go the US's way. This occurred during sociologist Saadeddin Ibrahim's trial, and continues to come into play whenever Egypt and America differ on foreign policy issues such as Iraq and Palestine." Speaker Fathi Sorour said the assembly is ready to discuss the issue of economic assistance to Egypt with the US Congress. "Egyptian dignity is of paramount importance to all MPs. Egypt does not beg for this assistance -- it's a form of political and economic cooperation with the US. We are proud of this cooperation and hope it is always based on equal footing." Sorour added that a parliamentary delegation is ready to go to Washington to "enlighten" the US Congress on how this assistance is equally beneficial to both countries.
