Parliamentarian Ahmed Abu Baraka has submitted an interpellation to Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif on the spread of corruption in Egypt--a phenomenon, he said, that both threatens the state and wastes funds otherwise earmarked for development. "According to Cairo University's Political Research Center, corruption costs Egypt LE63 billion a year," he said. In his interpellation, Abu Baraka stated that corruption in the education system had led many parents to resort to private tutoring, costing the state some LE15 billion per year. He went on to point out that tax evasion costs the state some LE10 billion per year, while customs evasion costs some LE6 billion per year. Corruption associated with the monopoly of the local steel and cement industries, meanwhile, had resulted in the suspension of numerous construction projects while costing the state an annual LE16 billion, said Abu Baraka. The state also loses some LE6 billion every year in monies smuggled abroad, LE4 billion due to the destruction of arable land and a further LE6 billion as a result of drug smuggling and money laundering. "There are currently 73,000 corruption cases before the courts," Abu Baraka noted. Along with his interpellation, Abu Baraka also urged fellow MPs to issue a vote of no-confidence in the current government. Translated from the Arabic edition.
