A recent study by the Economic Research Center said deposed President Hosni Mubarak misappropriated US$185 billion – or 87 percent – of the total US$213 billion that Egypt received in foreign aid from 1982 until 2010.
The study said that the United States gave Egypt US$63.5 billion, Japan US$32 billion, Saudi Arabia US$25 billion and the United Arab Emirates US$20 billion, in addition to a number of other countries.
“The study was based on reports from the Ministry of International Cooperation, the Central Auditing Organization and the Council of Ministers at the time of prime ministers Atef Ebeid and Ahmed Nazif,” said Salah Gouda, director of the center.
Gouda explained that a large part of that aid was paid in salaries of Egyptian and foreign consultants, and in decorating the offices of the ministers.
“Some countries withdrew their aid when they found out it was not being spent on agreed projects,” he said, pointing to Canada withdrawing US$50 million that were allocated for a project to sanitize sewage water.
“Management of foreign aid is the responsibility of the Ministry of International Cooperation,” he added. “And Fayza Abul Naga has been minister since 1999.”
Translated from the Arabic Edition
