Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05CAIRO8077
2005-10-19 15:39:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Cairo
Cable title:  

GAMAL MUBARAK ON CORRUPTION IN EGYPT

Tags:  PGOV ECON KDEM EG 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS CAIRO 008077 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV ECON KDEM EG
SUBJECT: GAMAL MUBARAK ON CORRUPTION IN EGYPT

Sensitive but unclassified. Protect accordingly.

UNCLAS CAIRO 008077

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV ECON KDEM EG
SUBJECT: GAMAL MUBARAK ON CORRUPTION IN EGYPT

Sensitive but unclassified. Protect accordingly.


1. (SBU) During their October 18 meeting, the Ambassador
flagged for Gamal Mubarak President Bush's personal interest
in the subject of corruption and international efforts to
combat it. Corruption poses a serious threat to the
processes of economic and political reform, the Ambassador
continued, and underlined U.S. interest in supporting
Egyptian efforts to stamp it out. He recommended that the
GOE and ruling NDP pre-empt opposition attempts to exploit
popular resentment at corruption by making anti-corruption
action a priority. Beyond the public references already made
by President Mubarak himself, and other senior GOE figures,
the Ambassador recommended that the GOE show the Egyptian
people that the GOE and NDP "have a plan, are acting on it,
and are getting results."


2. (SBU) Gamal responded that corruption had long been an
issue in Egyptian politics and acknowledged that it remains a
problem in Egyptian society. At the same time, Gamal
asserted, the GOE has long taken a hard line on corruption,
bringing many prosecutions on corruption cases, including a
number of high profile cases. Gamal asserted to the
Ambassador that many of the economic and political reforms
recently implemented, or currently in the process of
implementation (most designed by Gamal's policies secretariat
within the ruling NDP),are yielding tangible gains in the
battle against corruption.


3. (SBU) "The point is not what people are saying about
corruption, but what we are actually doing about it," Gamal
agreed. Egypt, he continued, has a plan to fight corruption,
and cited the overhaul of Egypt's taxation regime, customs
reforms, and the devolution of authority to local government
units as examples of reforms that would "fundamentally change
the way the GOE does business" and sharply reduce, if not
eliminate, many opportunities for corruption. He stated that
more structural reforms designed to improve governance and
fight corruption will be GOE priorities for the new People's
Assembly.


4. (SBU) The Ambassador reemphasized to Gamal the USG's
interest in the issue of corruption and its readiness to help
Egypt redouble its efforts to combat it, including through
ongoing USAID programs supporting governance reform. Gamal
welcomed the offer.


5. (SBU) Comment: The Ambassador's conversation with Gamal
Mubarak follows up previous discussions of the issue with
Minister of Trade Rashid and Minister of Investment
Mohieldin. Recent evidence of new GOE attention to
corruption came during the presidential campaign and
subsequently through the public comments of both those
officials. The Ministry of Investment is expected to publish
new corporate governance guidelines in the near future.
Meanwhile, the People's Assembly is expected to resume
debate, after the new parliament is seated in mid-December,
on a draft anti-corruption law which is understood to
establish a new government agency especially charged with
combating corruption. The last significant spurt of
anti-corruption activity came in 2001-2, when the GOE's
Administrative Control Authority (ACA) brought a number of
high profile corruption cases, including a case against the
Governor of Giza, Egypt's second most populous province,
under the leadership of prosecutor Hitler Tantawi in
2001-2002. Tantawi has since left the job, and the ACA's
activities have mainly dropped off the public radar screen.
End comment.


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