to reject House of Representatives Egyptian A proposal to reduce the period for reviewing the amounts of cash support provided to poor families from three years to two years, within the discussions of the draft law on social security and cash support.
During its session on Tuesday, the Council approved 20 articles out of 44 articles in the draft law, which aims to transform the conditional cash support program.Solidarity and dignity“To a legal right regulated by the Constitution.
The project also stipulates the allocation of support funds from the state’s general budget instead of relying on temporary loans and grants.
The Egyptian government grants monthly cash support amounting to 826 pounds to poor families, equivalent to about 16.5 dollars, 743 pounds to the elderly and people with disabilities, and 578 pounds to orphans.
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The Minister of Social Solidarity, Maya Morsi, rejected a proposal from a number of representatives, including Ihab Mansour, Irene Saeed, and Amira Saber, to reduce the period for reviewing support values to two years.
Morsi explained that this review is based on a cycle every three years, despite calls to shorten the period to suit economic changes and high inflation rates, which lead to successive increases in the prices of goods and services.
During her speech before Parliament, the Minister of Social Solidarity confirmed that 12 million Egyptian families live below the line PovertyAbout 7.4 million families benefited from the conditional cash support program “Solidarity and Dignity” during the past seven years.
Morsi explained that the national poverty line does not change annually in any country, which makes the period stipulated in the law, amounting to three years, sufficient to achieve the goals of the program, which aims to provide social security, and not provide monthly unemployment benefits.
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The draft law stipulates that the value of the monthly cash support, and its minimum and maximum limits, shall be determined by a decision of the Prime Minister, based on the recommendation of the Ministers of Finance and Social Solidarity. The value of the support is also reviewed every three years, following the issuance of the results of the income and expenditure research, in accordance with the controls and standards specified in the executive regulations of the law.
Morsi stressed that children’s commitment to attending schools and universities is a basic condition for poor families to be entitled to a “solidarity and dignity” pension. She explained that if support for a family is stopped, their case will be re-examined six months after the suspension, with the decision being final if the family does not comply with the conditions for the fourth time.
The draft law stipulates progressive procedures for deducting cash support in the event of violating the conditions of the “Solidarity and Dignity” program, whereby 30% of the value of the support is deducted upon the first violation, 60% the second time, and 90% the third time.
According to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, the national poverty line in Egypt is 10,279 pounds annually, which is equivalent to a monthly income of less than 856 pounds. While the World Bank estimates the global poverty line at $2.15 per day, or about 107 pounds.
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The government’s commitment to the policies of the International Monetary Fund, including liberalizing the exchange rate of the pound and raising interest rates to reduce inflation, led to an increase in the number of Egyptians living below the poverty line. The World Bank estimates that about 60% of the population suffers from poverty, in light of a worsening economic crisis resulting from the floating of the pound five times since 2016.
