Board of trustees appointed for Egypt support fund

[DJKeefy]

Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi has appointed a nine-member board of trustees for the 306306 Egypt Support Fund.

The nine members will have the responsibility of “establishing an institution of public interest in accordance with the law of civil associations and institutions under the name ‘Egypt Support Fund’,” said a statement published by the Cabinet on Thursday evening.

The nine members of the board of trustees, according to the statement, are: former Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt Farouk Al-Oqda, former Minister of Environment Nadia Makram Ebeid, owner of the CBC satellite channel Mohamed Al-Amin, businessman and billionaire Naguib Sawiris, economics professor Galal Amin, law professor Hani Sari-El Din, journalist Khairy Ramadan, poet Ahmed Fouad Negm and a representative from the Ministry of Defence.

The account number, 306306, makes reference to the mass demonstration on 30 June that prompted the General Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi to deliver former President Mohamed Morsi a 48-hour ultimatum. Morsi was ousted on 3 July.

The fund has been set up to accept donations from “citizens and national and foreign entities to support Egypt.” The cabinet statement stressed that the money will be used “for the purpose of education, health, infrastructure in villages and youth employment.”

At the end of August, interim Minister of Planning Ashraf El-Araby said the fund had collected more than EGP 700m.

A similar fund was set up following the 25 January Revolution, with the account number 2512011.

Source: http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2013/10/0 ... port-fund/

[LovelyLadyLux]

The fund has been set up to accept donations from “citizens and national and foreign entities to support Egypt.” The cabinet statement stressed that the money will be used “for the purpose of education, health, infrastructure in villages and youth employment.”

And THEN there was a meeting in Luxor and another Board struck there too! Maybe these two entities could meet and share info!! You know - join forces

[Chocolate Eclair]

UUHHMM!! Asking for foreign citizens to contribute? what in return for a 6 month Visa??? I think when this Visa was introduced many people like myself looked upon it has being a bit of an insult, and many gave up the thought of investing further, when in our own Country Asylum Seekers get longer Visa's to prove their worthy of Asylum Status.

I secretly believe that those who bought and invested in Luxor may have got the colly wobbles on this subject.

[Hafiz]

Nice to see tat everyone is back in their rightful (frightful) place.

The Sawiris family were absent from Egypt under Morsi. One of the brothers was reported several months ago to be parked off Mykonos in his yacht but maybe they now feel that it is safe to return.

Their great wealth was based, in large part, on Egyptian government licenses to deliver mobile phone network, Osracom. They have also entered into major contracts with Russian telecoms companies and operate a mobile network in North Korea (at one stage a third of revenues). In the past day they have been refused approval to buy terrestrial telephone assets in Canada on national security grounds.There also seems to have been a major, strange and opaque deal done in the Netherlands several months ago whereby some of the Sawiris assets were listed on that exchange. I think that the decision to list in the Netherlands was taken after listing on the more rigorous London exchange was not possible.

There were also major tax disputes between the Morsi government and the family, possibly settled for B7le.

The inclusion of a media magnate and a poet on the committee seems strange. What seems stranger is the absence of anyone with an obvious background in the 'education, health, infrastructure in villages and youth employment.” which are the objects of the fund. Is the committee 'fit for purpose'. Maybe it is fit for purpose if the purpose is a publicity stunt.

To call him a person of doubtful integrity with dubious friends would be to put it mildly but to put him in in a position of trust in charge of donations seems beyond belief. If he is looking to help clean up his image through public service, lets hope he doesn't help himself. Where in the world would a businessman with a disputed B7le tax bill be seen as suitable for a public fundraising purpose.

Little, if anything about Sawiris or the other cronies gets media coverage in Egypt because they own the media and al Ahram will print anything but the truth. As an aside can anyone remember any expose of government corruption (Mubarak/SCAP/Moris/Sisi)? Are there any investigative journalists in Egypt? Do all the media just reprint the press releases? The exception was reporting on Morsi but that was never (?) about corruption. Maybe no-one thinks that corruption is an issue in Egypt. Transparency International says that Egypt is 116/174 in world corruption with Mali (for god's sake) less corrupt that Egypt.

http://www.transparency.org/research/cpi/overview

For those with a morbid interest in the gruesome details of business in Egypt, here is an unwholesome entre:

http://www.ivcpost.com/articles/12373/2 ... es-sae.htm
http://www.polity.org.za/article/agricu ... 2012-01-17

I think its safe to say - the crooks are back. Maybe they never left.

[LovelyLadyLux]

Seems there are lots of little committees being set up these days. Very easy for those in power to point to these same Committees who point to the Sub-Committees who point to individual members when things go south and assign blame accordingly.

[Dusak]

Seems there are lots of little committees being set up these days. Very easy for those in power to point to these same Committees who point to the Sub-Committees who point to individual members when things go south and assign blame accordingly.

Perhaps that will be Ahmed Fauad Negm's job, issuing poetic justice.

[LovelyLadyLux]

Quite possibly sooooooo

[BENNU]

UUHHMM!! Asking for foreign citizens to contribute? what in return for a 6 month Visa??? I think when this Visa was introduced many people like myself looked upon it has being a bit of an insult, and many gave up the thought of investing further, when in our own Country Asylum Seekers get longer Visa's to prove their worthy of Asylum Status.

I find it more relevant to compare retiring on a tourist visa in Egypt with Egyptians trying to get a visa to UK rather than asylum seeking in a UN country.

The struggle: Egyptians obtaining foreign visas

It is summer time in Egypt, a season when many Egyptians prepare to travel abroad for a myriad of reasons, whether for tourism, business or studying. However, it is a struggle for many of them to get visas to certain destinations, including the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States. Daily News Egypt explores the stories of some Egyptians and the problems they faced when dealing with foreign embassies. - See more at: http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2013/05/2 ... 4trek.dpuf

[LindaW]

From the SIS of Egypt website:
7- 2012: Egypt needed to strengthen its economy to exogenous shocks, improve productivity and competition and invest in human capital through social protection from a human right-based approach to address market failures and build good trust in governance. The biggest questions for the new president-elect and new government are how to address corruption at the level of the bureaucracy, citizens and parties? How to meet the expectations of the Egyptian people? And how to bring people from different backgrounds and different voices to support social accountability during economic and political transition to an active State?

[LindaW]

http://www.sis.gov.eg/En/Templates/Arti ... rtID=67717

In the last lines the gov says openly: all in EGY is corrupt, and we'll continue to be so... Which brings us back to the shows with any kind of charitable "committies"... ???

[LovelyLadyLux]

More than interesting concept - how to address corruption?!!

[carrie]

Personally although I would prefer a 12 month visa, purely out of laziness, I am grateful to the Egyptian Government for allowing me to live here and so should we all be.