The Ministry of Finance has said that the government is keen to create a healthy legislative environment to enhance investment, encourage the public-private sector integration, and support the competitiveness of micro, small, and medium companies. In a statement, the ministry pointed out that there is continuous follow-up to the implementation of the law regulating public contracts; in order to ensure the efficient distribution of the state's economic resources, reduce any practices that harm public money, and contribute to alleviating the burdens on the state's general budget through the state's administrative authorities obtaining their needs at a lower cost and higher quality. The Ministry of Finance stated that the Law "Regulating Public Contracts" and its executive regulations aim to consolidate the principles of adherence to standards of transparency and governance, freedom of competition, investment promotion, balanced geographical, sectoral and environmental growth, and the prevention of monopolistic practices, taking into account financial and commercial balance and protecting the opportunities of emerging companies that may be affected. Maged Younes, head of the General Authority for Government Services, said that a periodical book was issued, in coordination with the Competition Protection Agency, that includes guidelines that contribute to setting the necessary mechanisms to implement the provisions relating to competition protection in the Public Contracts Law and its executive regulations, and highlighting the integration between the Public Contracts Law and the Law on the Protection of Competition and completing the electronic link between the Competition Protection Agency and the administrative authorities; in order to ensure the provision of rapid support in a manner conducive to the reduction of monopolistic practices. He added that the main objective of cooperation with Protection of Competition is to protect markets from monopolistic practices that limit consumer choice between the best products and services and obtain them at the lowest possible prices, and also to protect government agencies from monopolistic practices that threaten the efficiency of contractual operations, and lead to depriving them of obtaining products at the lowest prices and the best quality, noting that these guidelines aim to develop the skills of procurement officials in government agencies and expose any harmful practices to public money.
