Momtaz El-Saeed, minister of finance, said that prime minister's decision to freeze private funds and accounts with commercial banks whose value reached EGP 8.8 billion was based on organizational terms. Any public body has not a legal right to open an account in commercial banks, as its revenues shall be transferred to Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) as per to the law of unified treasury account, so that regulatory bodies can monitor and supervise all public bodies' budget, El-Saeed added. This decision does not aim at seizing the money of these funds and accounts, but instead bringing them inside the unified treasury account at CBE, El-Saeed noted. The process of collecting public revenues is not compatible with that of public expenditures, which in turn widen the funding gap. This gap is being covered by issuing treasury bills and bonds. However, there is a need to include the money of the private funds into a unified treasury account as this will reduce local lending and make more finances available for investments. Ministry of Finance in collaboration with CBE will check all funds and accounts to decide whether they are state-owned funds or private funds such as the workers' funds. El-Saeed affirmed that all bodies are obliged to transfer all accounts and funds to CBE immediately.
