UK: Gates to Open for Egypt Aid After Transition to Civil Authority
Britain is ready to launch aid programmes for Egypt once power has been transferred from the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to a civilian president, according to a senior British diplomat. It also warns that there is a risk that the SCAF will not hand over all its powers.
“Those programmes are ready. The goodwill is there, the design is there, the money is there and I think as soon as we get a government that can take longer term decisions and begin engaging in a kind of five-year programme, for example, then we can push the button and we can really help,” the senior British diplomat told Ahram Online.
Egypt is on the top of a list of Arab Spring countries that receive what the British government calls technical assistance. London launched an Arab partnership programme just after the start of the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt.
British assistance concentrates on helping Egypt in the fields of public accounts management, in order to enhance transparency and education with the purpose of developing skills for employability, the diplomat — who is part of the British Middle East policymaking team — added.
The diplomat confirmed that the UK government is now helping Egypt establish mechanisms for fighting corruption. “We are already paying for an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) anti-corruption team which is working with the Egyptian authorities,” the diplomat confirmed.
London strongly believes its aid programmes will make a difference in Egypt. The diplomat suggested that because of current political uncertainty amid the transitional period in Egypt, these programmes are on hold.
“Now I have to put my hand up and confess we haven’t got that far because these interim authorities have had a packed agenda,” the diplomat explained. Once Egypt has a permanent civilian president, the diplomat added, the country will be in a better position to negotiate with international institutions on aid packages.