Egypt's Military Council Approves 2012/13 State Budget

Egypt’s state budget for the 2012/13 fiscal year has been approved by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), the finance ministry announced Sunday evening. The new budget will come into effect on 8 July. The ministry added that the SCAF had also approved new rules and regulations governing 50 economic authorities, including Egypt's National Organisation for Military Production.

Earlier on Sunday, before the announcement, a finance ministry source had told Ahram Online that the interim government of Kamal El-Ganzouri was still working with the 2011/12 budget, as the new one had yet to be approved. "This is a standard procedure," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "But we're expecting the SCAF to approve the new budget within days."

Also on Sunday, Egypt’s newly-inaugurated President Mohamed Morsi issued a decision calling for 15 per cent bonuses on public-sector salaries and raising monthly social-insurance pension rates from LE200 to LE300. In May, Finance Minister Momtaz El-Saeed had announced that total state spending would climb to LE533.7 billion (roughly $88.3 billion) in the 2012/13 fiscal year. This would represent an 8.8 per cent increase on the LE490.6 billion spent by the state the year before.

State spending on food subsidies, pensions and housing will all increase under the new budget, with a projected LE44 billion annual increase in state revenue helping to bridge the gap. Total expenditures for 2012/13 – including spending and loan repayments – is expected to reach LE635.4 billion, up from LE594 billion in the previous budget.