Maait Affirms State Budget Transparency ... National Security Data Remains Confidential

Mohamed Maait, the Egyptian Minister of Finance affirmed the government's keenness and commitment to transparency and disclosure regarding the state budget, noting that there are issues and data related to national security, which should be confidential.

This came during the plenary session, on Sunday of the parliament, headed by Hanafi Gebaly, while discussing a draft law submitted by the government to issue the unified public finance law.

Maait explained that the proper application of the finance law requires a radical and fundamental change in the system that we have been using for decades, stressing that the government is keen to fully implement the law once the parliament approves it.

Addressing the deputies, Maait said, "Certainly we have reached the stage of proper application, and the unified finance law requires a fundamental change from the systems we have been accustomed to for 10 years. It requires all state agencies to train and change their method of implementation, with a time limit of 4 years, which guarantees the success of the new experiment.”

Maait's comment came after some deputies demanded a reduction in the application period of the new law, which is a period of 4 years from the date of its approval, with a year for the work of the internal regulation of the law.

The Unified Finance Law aims to integrate the State’s General Budget Law and the Government Accountability Law into a unified law that reflects the philosophy of financial performance in the economic system, taking into account modern mechanization systems. It also aims to achieve higher Levels of transparency and disclosure in preparation, implementation and oversight.