CAIRO: The Egyptian government is continuing its pressure on local NGOs over their funding sources. According to a statement from Prime Minister Essam Sharaf's office, the government is to investigate funding sources coming into the country. According to a ministry of justice report, there are at least 30 unregistered NGOs in Egypt that are being funded by foreign sources. It is the latest government moves to investigate money sources for Egyptian NGOs. The moves have been met with massive criticism. According to a Ministry of Planning International Cooperation (MPIC) press statement in July, Faiza Abou el-Naga, the Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, directed the ministry of justice to form a commission to examine direct foreign funding of civil society projects in Egypt. The Ministry of Justice commission had no more than three weeks to investigate and submit a detailed report to the MPIC listing the amounts and intended purposes of direct foreign funding payments or grants received by Egyptian civil society organizations as well as both registered and unregistered international organizations operating in Egypt. The Cabinet's decision to launch this investigation comes from the fact that “Egyptian public opinion rejects such funding, as it is considered interference in Egyptian domestic affairs,” according to Abou el-Naga. In early August, the head of the USAID mission – which has reportedly delivered tens of millions of dollars to local NGOs since the uprising ousted Hosni Mubara – left the country. Although denying anti-Americanism and the government's investigation into NGOs funding was a catalyst, James Bever was at the center of the funding debacle at the time. The ruling military junta has been growing in criticism in recent months over any interaction with outside bodies and has gone as far as claiming pro-change groups are part of a “foreign plot” in the country. NGOs in the country have said that the government is simply attempting to curtail their work in human rights and silence their criticism. They have been quick to point out the military and government receive over $1 billion annually from the United States. BM
