MP Slams Government Policies, Citing Citizen Overburdening Amid Service Decline

Ihab Mansour, deputy and rapporteur of the Manpower Committee in the Egyptian Parliament, launched a sharp critique against government policies on Tuesday. During a general session to discuss the value-added tax law, Mansour accused the government of continuously increasing burdens and fees on Egyptian families.

He pointed out that these increased charges come at a time when citizens are experiencing a decline in the quality of several essential services. Mansour cited ongoing complaints about water outages in some areas and deteriorating internet and telecommunications services. He questioned the rationale behind imposing new financial burdens on citizens without any noticeable improvement in the services they receive.

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The citizen has become under increasing burdens that exceed his ability to bear... and the citizen has become cooked.

Mansour stressed that the government must review its policies regarding fees and services to strike a balance between the state budget's needs and protecting citizens from further living pressures. He asserted that citizens are bearing increasing burdens that exceed their capacity to tolerate, using a strong metaphor: "The citizen has become under increasing burdens that exceed his ability to bear... and the citizen has become cooked."

The deputy also objected to the exclusion of natural gas from exemptions, questioning the impact of decisions like the quadrupling of "code meters" (likely referring to smart meters or similar utility devices) after the government failed to finalize reconciliation processes. He also highlighted the recurring water outage crisis in Giza despite rising water bills and the declining quality of internet services despite price increases. Finance Minister Ahmed Kojo responded by assuring that the law aims to simplify procedures and secure state resources without burdening citizens or the business community, noting that social protection spending is increasing.

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All concerns, we affirm that the goal of the law is facilitation and simplification and finding resources for the state without burdens on the citizen or the business community.