The Social Contract Center carried out a study which showed that the current support system does not reach those who need aid, particularly by ration cards. The study showed that support for people who are not poor has reached 68 percent, which wastes the resources of the country. The study divided citizens into five groups each one representing 20 percent of the citizens. Citizens are placed from the highest fifth to the lowest fifth, depending on how poor they are. According to the study, 80 percent of the poorest people do not have ration cards, while 57 percent in the highest fifth do. The study also showed that income and expenditure results carried out by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, indicates that support for total commodity reached 23 million Egyptian pounds in 2008 and 2009. The study, however, showed that only 17 percent of the support reaches the poorest, whereas 43 percent of support reaches those in the higher fifth. The study criticized the Ministry of Social Solidarity's failure in updating date for the support system and for not dismissing those who do not need support. 64 percent have ration cards despite the fact that they do not need much support, while 23 percent do not have ration cards despite them needing it the most. The study suggests updating eligibility for obtaining ration cards in order to provide necessary support for low income holders. It suggested as well ways of redistributing commodity support.
