Egypt MP calls for probe into gov't corruption

An Egyptian member of parliament has requested a briefing request to the prime minister and minister of planning to discuss the decline of the country’s global ranking in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).

Egypt dropped to its lowest ranking in the 2022 CPI, coming in 130th place globally, compared to 117th place in 2021. It also came in joint 11th place in the Arab world with Mauritania.

In her briefing request, the MP from the Social Democratic Party, Maha Abdel Nasser, said questions need to be posed to the government about the reasons behind the drop in Egypt’s ranking.

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Abdel Nasser demanded opening an immediate investigation through the oversight authorities to detect the government’s real efforts in combating corruption, with the results of the probe being announced to the public for the benefit of full transparency and credibility.

Tariq Morsi, a former member of the Egyptian Parliament’s Labour Committee, said, “Egypt’s decline in the CPI bears multiple connotations, the simplest and most prominent of which is that Al-Sisi sponsors and encourages corruption, and that corruption grows and increases as long as the military institution controls authority.”

“The figures do not lie, but rather clearly declare that the Egyptian state is collapsing under Al-Sisi’s rule,” he added.

The CPI, compiled by Transparency International (TI), ranks 180 countries around the world by their perceived levels of public sector corruption.

The region continues to struggle with authoritarianism, with the Arab Spring uprisings failing to dismantle the power structures that allow those at the top to retain control and hinder political integrity. “This has caused pervasive civil unrest – and violent conflict – as people fight for their rights and voices to be heard,” TI explained. “The instability and consolidation of power in turn fuels political corruption, feeding the vicious cycle of authoritarianism, corruption and conflict across the Arab world.”

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