CAIRO - Egypt is taking measures to fight corruption in its governmental domain. The most populous Arab country of 80 million has a huge army of public servants, exceeding 6.3 million, according to the Ministry of Administrative Development. While economists said there should be a minimum wage that guarantees a decent life for public servants to reign in corruption, Minister of Administrative Development Ahmed Darwish believes that pay rise is not the only solution. "Increasing wages isn't the only solution to uproot corruption," Darwish said at a press conference in Cairo last week, when launching a three-year programme with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to fight corruption in the North African country. "The solution includes multi-factor social mechanisms, starting at home in schools," Darwish said. "Raising the minimum pay of public servants to LE400 ($69) per month wouldn't solve the problem, as roughly 30 per cent of civil servants already receive that monthly income," he added. In October, the National Council for Wages (NCW) fixed a new minimum wage level at LE400 instead of LE35, as set in the mid-1980s to meet rising living costs in Egypt. Earlier, the Administrative Court ruled that the Government should pay a minimum monthly wage of LE1,200 to meet spiralling inflation. Inflation in Egypt eased to 10.2 per cent in November from 11 per cent in October, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS). Annual inflation stood at 21.1 and 16.2 per cent in 2008 and 2009 respectively, according to CAPMAS, and reached a record high of 23.6 per cent in August 2008. "The Government is investing in human capital. The challenge is overpopulation. In 2009, it grew by 2.2 million. Around 1.6 million children joined school, requiring the Government to build 1,000 schools each year," Darwish said. The population is forecast to reach 99 million by 2025, according to a UN report. By 2050, Egypt's Supreme Council for Urban Planning and Development forecasts 140-155 million. But raising wages is a must to cope with spiraling inflation, one economist said. "Realistic wages would improve the civil servants' quality of life. It's a good step towards reducing corruption in governmental agencies," Sherif Shawqi, a researcher at Alexandria University, told the Egyptian Mail in an interview. Official statistics illustrate to what extent corruption has seeped into governmental departments. Around 70,000 graft cases were reported in Egypt so far this year, according to the Transparency Commission, chaired by Minister Darwish. Roughly 1,300 embezzlement cases and 5,000 about the wasting of public funds were exposed until October, according to the Transparency Commission. Egyptian courts hear 12 million lawsuits annually, according to the Ministry of Justice. Higher incomes would move the socioeconomic situation towards change, Shawqi said. "Less pay creates an environment for bribery or at least gives excuses for corruption. A pay rise that guarantees public servants a decent life would reduce corruption in the long run," Shawqi added. "Bribery in the governmental domain of any country increases investment costs. Investors need a transparent economy with clear-cut regulations and no hidden costs in bribes," he explained. Transparency International (TI), an anti-corruption organisation, stated that insufficient public accountability systems "hinder efforts to combat corruption in Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco and Palestine". The Berlin-based agency declared in a report earlier this year that Egypt, Palestine and Lebanon do not have anti-corruption agencies. "The executive branch should allow for strengthening the role of parliament and judiciary and public oversight bodies as effective checks on its operations," said TI. Yury Fedotov, the head of UNODC, believes that fighting corruption is a shared responsibility that requires "strong leadership to achieve the Millennium Development Goals". "I commend Egypt for being one of the first states to join the UN Convention against Corruption. Since your country is economically and culturally important for the whole region, your gesture shows your determination to strengthen the rule of law," Fedotov said.
