The evening session of the People’s Assembly Sunday was brought to a halt when MPs shouted at Supply and Social Affairs Minister Gouda Abdel Khaleq.
As Abdel Khaleq read a government statement concerning government efforts to combat unemployment, MP Mohamed Abdullah interrupted him and said, “The government doesn’t want to solve the problem — instead it wants to reduce the number of Egyptians.”
“I’m upset with what the MP has said about the government because it implies that the government plots against the Egyptian people,” Abdel Khaleq replied.
MPs reacted angrily toward Abdel Khaleq’s statement and some responded by shouting at him.
Speaker Saad al-Katatny said that the discussion over the issue of unemployment should be delayed because of the ‘tense atmosphere’ inside the session. He also asked Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mohamed Attiya to apologize for Abdel Khaleq’s behavior.
Attiya responded that “the government is sorry for what happened.”
On Saturday, the government statistics office reported that Egypt's fourth quarter unemployment rate rose by two percentage points, rising to 12.4 percent.
Official figures, however, do not accurately reflect the workforce due to Egypt's high level of informal workers.
