Citizens in several Egyptian governorates have launched fundraising campaigns seeking an alternative to US aid. The move follows a recent call by prominent Salafi preacher Mohamed Hassan and other public figures for citizens to raise money to counter US aid. In Assiut, employees at the governorate's office donated three days' salary. One participant said the donations are part of Governor Al-Sayyed al-Boraie's initiative to “respond to American threats to cut off annual financial aid to Egypt." Boraie thanked his employees and called for extending the campaign to all public and private institutions. In Minya, local council heads have donated a week's salary and workers also made donations to support Egypt's general budget. They announced that the money will be sent to Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri in March. In Kafr al-Sheikh, an association of the province's teachers in their Facebook page called for a fundraising initiative that includes all local teachers. The US has given Egypt an average of US$2 billion annually since 1979, most of which goes to the military. But the US has recently warned that aid to Egypt may be cut after the Egyptian authorities' crackdown on local and foreign NGOs, which are accused of receiving illegal funding. On Saturday, prominent preacher Mohamed Hassan called for doing away with the American aid. "I swear to God that the Egyptian people can in one night raise a hundred times more than the trivial US aid," he said. Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
