If President Mubarak's keynote speech at parliament's inauguration is anything to go by, the People's Assembly and Shura Council have their work cut out for them. Gamal Essam El-Din reports Addressing a joint session of the People's Assembly and Shura Council on Saturday, President Hosni Mubarak said there are nine domestic challenges the nation has to face in the coming period. These challenges, Mubarak explained, are the result of recent negative developments on both the external and internal levels. Mubarak said protectionist measures adopted by industrially advanced countries, combined with the international campaign against terrorism, have come at the expense of sustainable development efforts in the developing world. The result has been "a severe economic slowdown, reduced inflows of foreign investments", and higher rates of unemployment. Mubarak also emphasised that runaway population growth is at the forefront of domestic factors which have simultaneously affected efforts aimed at raising the living standards of citizens and achieving higher economic growth rates for the country as a whole. In the coming months, both the People's Assembly and Shura Council will hold a series of hearings to study Mubarak's list of challenges, and make recommendations on how to overcome them. Topping Mubarak's list is the pressing need to deepen democratisation and broaden the base of participation in political life. "This is important in order to have an active political life and reinforce freedoms and democracy," the president said. Political pundits agree that a package of reforms has to be introduced if Egypt is to push forward on these goals. Shawki El- Sayed, deputy chairman of the Shura Council's legislative and constitutional committee, told Al-Ahram Weekly that there is no doubt that Egypt's parliamentary life is weak. "In order to activate it, the first priority involves reforming the electoral system, and amending the 1956 law regarding the exercise of political rights." According to Shawki, a year and a half ago President Mubarak stressed that a new electoral system had to be devised in order to scrap the individual candidacy system currently in use. "A few meetings were held to replace this system with a new one combining individual candidacy and proportional representation slate systems. Unfortunately, these meetings have gone nowhere," lamented El-Sayed. "It seems that more time has to go by, before this important objective can be achieved." At a procedural parliamentary meeting held on 13 November, opposition MPs complained that the People's Assembly's internal regulations do not work in their favour. According to Khaled Mohieddin, head of the leftist-oriented Tagammu Party, "Egypt is still a long way from complete democracy. This is clear in the fact that our parliament is still quite toothless in overseeing the government. [Also], I am afraid that there will not be enough time for parliament to effectively play its supervisory role because the government plans to refer a large number of bills to the People's Assembly this session." According to MP Mounir Fakhri Abdel-Nour, spokesman for the Wafd Party, "amending the Assembly's internal regulations is a prerequisite for reinforcing parliament's scrutiny over the government." In response, the Assembly's speaker, Fathi Sorour vowed to give opposition and independent MPs a greater say in parliamentary affairs and discussions. Sorour's intention, however, must be coupled with the criticism leveled at opposition and independent deputies by the press -- commentators have said that the opposition's decision to support the speaker's reelection for the 13th consecutive year reveals, above all, just how weak the opposition really is. According to Mubarak, strengthening the rule of law and maintaining national unity also go hand in hand with increased democratisation. "The rule of the law is a basic necessity for combating corruption and fighting favouritism," the president said. Political observers agree that the president's directive is clear -- the government's crackdown on corruption must go on. El- Sayed described last summer as "one of the hottest in Egypt's modern history in terms of fighting corruption. Several high- ranking officials, including heavyweight MPs belonging to the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) as well as business tycoons, are currently facing trials on corruption charges." At the same, time, said El-Sayed, the opposition believes that strengthening the rule of the law requires adopting preventive measures against corruption, whereas "the government's action against corruption usually comes too late. Take banking corruption, for example. Parliament rang alarm bells on this kind of corruption a long time ago, but the government refused to lend its ear." This week, Sorour confirmed that it is in the government's interest to respond to all interpellations (questions that must be answered) tabled by MPs on corruption. Two of the other big challenges proffered by the president include reinforcing the role of the private sector in development and liberalising the national economy. "Restructuring the banking system should not lead us to lose confidence in businessmen and the private sector," Mubarak said. "Our strong belief in the market economy requires that the private sector must be the prime player in realising the objectives of development." Liberalisation and economic reform, however, do not mean ignoring another challenge, said Mubarak -- that of securing social justice. "The government must maintain its basic role in protecting poor and limited-income classes from the ravages of economic reform. It must go on offering the subsidies necessary to alleviate poverty and reduce unemployment." Prime Minister Atef Ebeid indicated that the government plans to rise to the challenge by adopting a series of legislative and executive measures; topping the list of 14 draft laws that "the government is determined to submit to parliament during the current session, is a new bill aimed at strengthening the powers of the Central Bank", Ebeid said. At the same time, the current budget allocates LE22 billion in direct and indirect subsidies to such vital areas as basic food commodities, drinking water and electricity, public transportation and low-cost housing. Sorour, meanwhile, indicated that a special committee will be established by the Assembly to raise public awareness on the importance of birth control. He cited Mubarak's warning that with Egypt's population increasing by 1.3 million people annually, it is expected to reach 100 million by 2022, up from 44 million in 1981 and 69.5 million in 2003. According to Sorour, highlighting the dangers of this runaway growth on development efforts must be one of the Assembly's basic goals. Amongst the other challenges mentioned by President Mubarak were fighting extremism, reinforcing moderation and giving young people the chance to reach positions of leadership. "The government must recognise that bureaucratic obstacles kill talents and obliterate ambitions," he said. Safwat El-Sherif, the NDP secretary-general, said the ruling party is determined to give its young members leading positions. "This week we decided that three of our young deputies will be the party's speakers in parliament this year," said El-Sherif. Mansour Amer and Sayed El-Sherif, both businessmen, and lawyer Abul-Naga El-Mahrizzi, were the three selected to fill that role, inspiring criticism from opposition MPs who said that even though the three are between 40 and 45 years of age, their interests lean heavily towards business. On Sunday, as many as 22 opposition and independent MPs submitted a memorandum to Sorour, complaining that the government has completely ignored Mubarak's repeated calls for creating "a second generation of young leaders". "Old-time leaders, with their ages ranging from 65 to 70, are monopolising leading positions in political parties and government offices. This is dangerous and stands against modernisation," the memorandum said. Related stories: State of the nation Doubts accompany parliamentary opening 14 - 20 November 2002
