CAIRO-Egypt's Prosecutor-General Abdel Meguid Mahmoud Saturday requested that the immunity of 14 members of Parliament be dropped to allow for them to be questioned over alleged violations of free medical treatment regulations. The questioning will be conducted a few months before Egyptians go to polls to elect a new parliament. The 14 lawmakers in question are 12 members from the People's Assembly (the Lower House of the Parliament) and two from the Shura Council (the Upper House), according to the official Middle East News agency. They include Samir Zaher, the president of the Egyptian Football Association, and Islamist MPMohssen Radi. A recent report has accused the 14 lawmakers of acquiring public funds illegally in the free healthcare-related scandal that has riveted the nation's attention for months now. The report, prepared by a State-backed commission, says the legislators are responsible for squandering half a billion pounds ($ 89.4 million) of public funds by forging free healthcare letters and taking the money for themselves. “Some legislators managed to issue letters for people who needed artificial limbs, but later turned out to be mere impostors,” the report adds. The furore over the Government's inability to pay for the treatment of poor Egyptians in the nation's hospitals was almost universal a few months ago. As the Government's coffers got dry, millions of free healthcare-seekers failed to get treatment, because the Government could not pay for this treatment. Later, however, media reports broke the news of the involvement of legislators, most of them belonging to the ruling National Democratic Party, in issuing fake free healthcare letters for relatives and friends, depriving the poor and the needy of free healthcare money. Around 35 million Egyptians are registered in the country's State health insurance system, according to the Health Ministry, and most of the rest are supposed to get free healthcare.
