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Planning Minister reviews general budget before Senate Government adopts fair financing formula for distributing public investments in coordination with development partners
Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, has reviewed the state's general budget before the Senate's financial and economic affairs committee. She highlighted the most important features of the new budget, notably the establishment of a Supreme Council for Planning and Sustainable Development headed by the President, whose goal is to coordinate between the authorities concerned with planning and development in a way that enables the implementation of the sustainable development strategy: Egypt 2030, and maximizes the efficiency and effectiveness of the planning process. She pointed out that the budget enables local administrations to put their development plans at different levels, and gives them the freedom and flexibility necessary to implement these plans, and also encourages them to mobilize more financial resources and direct them to development investment projects. El-Said said that the new budget attaches great importance to the projects funded by the public treasury, and stressed not to approve any projects without ensuring the availability of the necessary lands for their implementation and that they are free from any judicial disputes. She noted that for the first time, a fair financing formula was developed for the distribution of investments, which was prepared in coordination and cooperation with the relevant ministries and local and international development partners, through which local development programs and investments are distributed based on a number of indicators such as: population density – poverty indicators – unemployment indicators and developmental gaps. She pointed to diversifying sources of funding by encouraging the participation of the private sector in development projects and paying attention to measuring the economic feasibility of the implemented development projects, by establishing a unit for feasibility studies and with partnership with the private sector and civil society in the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development. She stated that it was agreed between the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development and the Ministry of Environment to achieve 30% of investment projects for the concepts of environmental sustainability and green economy, provided that this percentage would be increased to 50% during the next three years, in order to rationalize the use of resources and contribute to achieving the development strategy.
