Egypt signs protocol with World Bank to combat corruption

CAIRO – 10 May 2017: Chairperson of the Administrative Control Authority (ACA) Mohamed Erfan signed Tuesday a cooperation protocol with World Bank (WB) officials to promote anti-corruption measures, develop the system of governance and means of management in Egypt, according to a Tuesday press release by the ACA.

This came during the high-profile Egyptian delegation’s recent visit to Washington D.C. The delegation was comprised of ACA's officials and headed by Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr.

In a meeting WB’s President Jim Kim, Erfan and Nasr discussed the appropriate measures to combat corruption at all levels, along with means of good governance and how to effectively implement management administrative reforms.

This comes in response to directions by President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi to combat all forms of corruption in the governmental offices, and to implement preventive measures, the statement read.

They also held another meeting with the vice president of the WB for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, Hafez Ghanem, on the importance of benefiting from the bank's expertise and practices in the aforementioned areas given that the WB supports countries in establishing more effective and accountable institutions.

They also stressed on the necessity of the quick issuance of the WB's annual Doing Business report in order to properly measure and closely examine the regulations the ministries adopt to ease the process of business-doings in Egypt.

In the WB's last Doing Business report released in 2016, Egypt was promoted from the 126th to 122nd position, moving up four spots from the previous year's ranking.

The annual report is primarily based on a number of indicators, including the duration of starting a business, the measures undertaken to ease the process of paying taxes and to ensure a smooth access to credit, along with the ones taken to protect investors.

Additionally, Erfan signed a cooperation protocol with Deborah L. Wetzel, WB senior director for the Governance Global Practice to promote anti-corruption measures and exchange information on the development of the governance system.