CAIRO – In Egypt, there are 125 scientific research centres that affiliated to the Ministry of Scientific Research, but they are suffering from a lack of co-ordination. These centres operate also under the umbrella of the Higher Council for Research Centres and Institutes. Many of these centres are similar or even duplicated. The New and Renewable Energy Authority, the National Centre for Radiation Technology, affiliated to the Ministry of Electricity, and the Petroleum Research Institute (PRI), affiliated to the Ministry of Scientific Research, all do the same research. Maher el-Soukari, former director of the PRI, says that there is no national plan for the operation of the research centres. El-Soukari, who worked as a chemist for the PRI, also says that there is no integration among these three research centres. “We have an X-ray device costing $1.5 million to analyse metals and other solids, and the other two centres have the same device,” he explains. Sami el-Faramawi, another senior researcher, says that although Egypt is not a rich country, you often have several research centres with the same equipment. “The problem is with the management. A country like India, which doesn't squander money like this, is very scientifically advanced,” explains el-Faramawi. A total of 127 researchers at the National Research Centre (NRC) and PRI recently filled in a questionnaire. According to 73 per cent of them, the mismanagement of the available funds is to blame for the research crisis. Meanwhile, 72 per cent said that the budget wasn't used to benefit researchers, while 70 per cent referred to an absence of co-operation between different departments in the same centre, 35.7 per cent complained of research being duplicated and 49 per cent said that much money was wasted by repeatedly buying the same equipment. Dr Reda Abu Shanab, a scientist in the Scientific Research City, says that their laboratories are better that many similar ones in European centres he has visited. “However the European labs are interested in the essence of research and make full use of the equipment at their disposal,” stresses Abu Shanab, holder of an international patent. Dr Hani el-Nazer, former Chairman of the National Research Centre (NRC), told Al-Ahram semi-official newspaper that research centres are scattered across more than a ministry and there is no co-ordination between them. “For example, research conducted by the Agricultural Research Centre [ARC] is often duplicated by the NRC,” he explains. “The NRC spent LE6 million [about $1 million] to obtain a research device, although the ARC has a similar one. This huge waste is because of a lack of co-ordination.” Mohamed Abdel-Maguid of the ARC agrees. “Yes, there is a problem with management. Part of the problem is that, in many cases, the managers are not scientists,” he explains.
