CAIRO // The economic affairs committee of Egypt's parliament has not yet seen a proposal from the IMF for an emergency loan package, casting doubt on plans for the US$3.2 billion (Dh11.75bn) agreement to be signed next month.
"It was not submitted to us to see all the details, the restrictions and conditions on the loans, so we cannot judge something before seeing all the details," said Tarek Dousky, the head of the economic committee in parliament and a member of the ultra-conservative Salafist Nour Party.
This week, Momtaz El Saieed, Egypt's finance minister, said the country expected to sign the loan agreement with the IMF next month and would receive one third of the funds immediately upon signing.
The government turned down a similar loan from the IMF last June. But Mr Dousky, who was elected to his post last month, said "until now, the government has not sent this for approval".
"If they want to get the loan, they will have to send all the requests to all the economic commission to discuss it," Mr Dousky said.
Although the extent of the committee's power is unclear, it is charged with submitting draft laws and giving recommendations, which if agreed on through a vote become binding.
Under the new constitutional declaration, adopted last March when the military council took control of Egypt, there is no clear obligation for the government to be granted approval from the people's assembly and sub-committees.
However, the IMF sent a strong signal to Egypt's political parties last month, when it said it would seek "broad political support" before an agreement is made.
Analysts also say little breakthrough in legislation is expected from the committees until a new government is formed, because of minimal access to the ministries.
"Basically the [committees] do not have an agenda. As a matter of fact, all we have seen them doing until now is responding to daily developments," said Mazen Hassan, a parliamentary expert at Cairo University.
The economic committee has begun discussing specific issues such as how to outlaw monopolies and implement a fair minimum wage, but many issues have yet to be addressed, including clear steps on enforcing a fair tax system, pricing basic commodities and cutting wasteful food subsidies.
"The parliament has only been held for a few weeks. One of those weeks was for formal meetings, and formal procedures that were not in action previous to elections," Mr Dousky said.
He said the committee's agenda had been put off track by unexpected events such as the Port Said tragedy in which 74 people died in a football match riot.
Lack of clarity on an economic programme has unsettled investors who regard the wider parliament as struggling to move beyond initial party slogans that boast of social justice and equal wealth distribution. At a packed American Chamber of Commerce conference held this week in Cairo, some of the multinational business community including representatives from General Electric, Coca-Cola and Procter & Gamble called for concrete answers on solving Egypt's fiscal crisis.
Neveen El Shafei, the vice chairman of the General Authority for Investments, the government authority that regulates and facilitates investment, insisted that commitments with local and foreign investors would be honoured. Egypt was still a lucrative place to invest, she said.
"Last year was a difficult year, and yes, some of the prominent investors have faced problems," she said.
"But Egypt is always going to be a hub, to gain access to other parts of the Middle East and North Africa".
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