CAIRO - In a heated debate Tuseday, lawmakers from the Budget and Plan Committee grilled the ruling National Democratic Party's chief whip Ahmed Ezz over imbalances in the civil servants' earnings, soaring prices of food and basic services and rife nepotism to appoint governmental employees. The lawmakers criticised the Government's failure to control prices and accused former MPs of taking bribes in order to get jobs in some governmental institutions. "The meat prices have soared as if there were no Government. The one kilo hit LE70 ($13) as the pay rises are mere peanuts," MPNabil Fasikh said at the meeting of the Budget Committee, chaired by Ezz. Ezz, who also heads the organisation panel of the ruling party, shouted at Fasikh, an NDP member, accusing him of speaking without any “verified data”. "Will you stop talking in this way? We should not minimise the Government achievements in prices of meat or tomatoes," he snarled. MP Amal Abdel Wahab jumped into the fray, charging former lawmakers of corruption. "Dozens of people in my constituency allege they have paid former MPs bribes to be appointed in electricity and petroleum sectors," she said. Ezz was up in arms again. "We should never believe all we hear out in the street," he said. Despite high levels of economic growth over the past few years, living conditions for the average Egyptian remain poor, according to observers.
