The Shura Council’s Legislative and Constitutional Affairs Committee turned down on Tuesday a request by the president's office to increase its budget to LE413 million, up from the LE330 million earmarked by the Ministry of Finance.
The committee said that the ministry should make up for deficits during the upcoming fiscal year, which starts in July.
Mohamed Ashraf, who represented the president's office during the committee session, denied that the current budget is higher than those allocated under former president Hosni Mubarak. He added that the former first lady, Suzanne Thabet, spent LE185,000 a year on bodyguards, janitors, and cooks alone. He argued that the presidential budget under Mubarak also received contributions from ministries.
“Over the past years, the Housing Ministry procured LE1.61 billion for the renovation of presidential palaces, and that issue is being reviewed. But this year, only LE20 million is targeted for renovations,” Ashraf said. “The Ministry of Transportation used to allocate LE179 million from 2004 to 2010, now it pays nothing.”
Ashraf revealed that they had received a request to increase the salaries of presidential staffers by LE80 million to cater to 3,015 employees. “Bonuses and allowances are paid by the president's office, and this exhausting work continues non-stop,” he contended.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
