| Egypt: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Supreme Audit Institution | ||
| Indicators | Score | |
| 55 | In law, is there a national supreme audit institution, auditor general or equivalent agency covering the entire public sector? | 100 |
| 56 | Is the supreme audit institution effective? | 34 |
| 57 | Can citizens access reports of the supreme audit institution? | 0 |
Indicator and sub-Indicator Details
| 55 | In law, is there a national supreme audit institution, auditor general or equivalent agency covering the entire public sector? | |||||||
| 55: In law, is there a national supreme audit institution, auditor general or equivalent agency covering the entire public sector? | ||||||||
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Comments: In law, there is a national general auditing agency covering the entire public sector, known as the Central Auditing Apparatus. By virtue of law no. 129/1960, Central Auditing Apparatus was established with the general aim of financially and administratively monitoring civil service agencies, companies and banks in which there is public money. In the amending law no. 144/1988, the aim of the apparatus was to monitor the money of the state and civil servants and to help the legislature in practicing its monitoring role. After it had been subordinated to the legislature in the 1960 law, it came to be submitted to the president of the republic in the 1988 law. References: Law no. 144/1988 establishing the Central Auditing Apparatus, the official newspaper, issue 23, Nov.9, 1988.
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| 56 | Is the supreme audit institution effective? | |||||||
| 56a: In law, the supreme audit institution is protected from political interference. | ||||||||
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Comments: In law, the Central Auditing Apparatus, the supreme audit institution, is not protected from political interference. Law no. 144/1988 amending the previous law conveys the leadership of the Central Auditing Apparatus from the legislature to the president of the republic, who is the head of the executive branch. With law no. 129/1964 being amended by law no. 144/1988, the independence of the Central Auditing Apparatus and the protection of its chief against political interference have completely been damaged. In the old law, the chief of the apparatus could not be removed and his manadate could not be extended, but the amending law gave the president of the republic and his assistants of course - the authority to remove heads of the apparatus or extend their periods in office. References: Law no. 144/1988 establishing the Central Auditing Apparatus, the official newspaper, issue 23, Nov.9, 1988.
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| 56b: In practice, the head of the audit agency is protected from removal without relevant justification. | ||||||||
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Comments: In practice, the head of the Central Auditing Apparatus is not protected from removal without relevant justification. The Central Auditing Apparatus became absolutely under the dominance and control of the president of the republic and his assistants with the issuing of law no. 144/1988. Article 20 of the new law made it possible for the president of the republic to remove heads of the apparatus or extend their periods in office. References: Law no. 144/1988 establishing the Central Auditing Apparatus, the official newspaper, issue 23, Nov.9, 1988.
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| 56c: In practice, the audit agency has a professional, full-time staff. | ||||||||
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Comments: In practice, the Central Auditing Apparatus has a professional, full-time staff. After 44 years since its establishment, the Central Auditing Apparatus has now very experienced staff. References: Law no. 144/1988 establishing the Central Auditing Apparatus, article 7 the official newspaper, issue 23, Nov.9, 1988.
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| 56d: In practice, audit agency appointments support the independence of the agency. | ||||||||
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Comments: In practice, appointments to the Central Auditing Apparatus does not support the independence of the agency. Administratively, the agency follows the minister of Administrative Development, who has the authority to decide the internal regulations of the apparatus. Since this minister is part of the executive branch, the independence of the apparatus is damaged. Most important is the modification that gave the president of the republic the authority to remove heads of the apparatus or extend their periods in office. References: Law no. 144/1988 establishing the Central Auditing Apparatus, articles 27, 28 the official newspaper, issue 23, Nov.9, 1988.
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| 56e: In practice, the audit agency receives regular funding. | ||||||||
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Comments: In practice, like all other civil service agencies, the Central Auditing Apparatus receives regular funding from the state. References: Law no. 144/1988 establishing the Central Auditing Apparatus, the official newspaper, issue 23, Nov.9, 1988.
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| 56f: In practice, the audit agency makes regular public reports. | ||||||||
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Comments: Reports of the Central Auditing Apparatus are not made available to citizens. Only two institutions receive these reports: the president of the republic, as the apparatus follows him, and the legislature, when it demands reports on specific agencies. In all cases, the president of the republic is the only destination of the reports of the agency. References: Law no. 144/1988 establishing the Central Auditing Apparatus, the official newspaper, issue 23, Nov.9, 1988.
Peer Review Comments: The Central Auditing Organization (CAO) presents its reports to the People's Assembly (legislative authority) for discussion, especially those regarding the general budget. But most of the time, the assembly does not take into consideration the warnings or the notifications presented by the CAO.
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| 56g: In practice, the government acts on the findings of the audit agency. | ||||||||
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Comments: As stated in law no. 144/1988 the Central Auditing Apparatus is authorized to monitor, check and discover financial violations and to bring the accused civil servant to the Disciplinary Court, an administrative court whose decisions are only administrative. One proof that the government does not take the reports of the Central Auditing Apparatus seriously is what was cited in the apparatus' 2002 report. The report said that the government spent 35 billions pounds (US$6.3 billion) from loans of 600 agreements with other countries without registering these amounts. The apparatus sent 15 letters to the Economic Committee of the legislature demanding clarifications and documents, but neither the government nor the Economic Committee of the legislature replied until now. References: Saber Nail, Corruption and Marriage between Politics and Wealth, Al-Khamaseen publishing house, Cairo, PP. 37-38.
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| 56h: In practice, the audit agency is able to initiate its own investigations. | ||||||||
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Comments: As stated in article 5 (clause 3) of law 144, the Central Auditing Apparatus is authorized to monitor and check the decisions made by civil service agencies, especially financial and administrative decisions, to ascertain that the appropriate procedures have been taken. It can also require the agency making the decision to rethink its decision within 30 days of receiving its documents. If the agency does not apply the demand of the apparatus, it requires presenting the civil servant to the Disciplinary Court. References: Law no. 144/1988 establishing the Central Auditing Apparatus, the official newspaper, issue 23, Nov.9, 1988.
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| 57 | Can citizens access reports of the supreme audit institution? | |||||||
| 57a: In law, citizens can access reports of the audit agency. | ||||||||
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Comments: In law, citizens cannot access the reports of the Central Auditing Apparatus. Only two institutions receive these reports: the president of the republic, because the apparatus follows him, and the legislature, because the apparatus is established to assist in financial and administrative monitoring. References: Law no. 144/1988 establishing the Central Auditing Apparatus, the official newspaper, issue 23, Nov.9, 1988.
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| 57b: In practice, citizens can access audit reports within a reasonable time period. | ||||||||
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Comments: In practice, citizens cannot access audit reports of the Central Auditing Apparatus within a reasonable or unreasonable time period. Only the presidency and the legislature can receive its reports. References: Law no. 144/1988 establishing the Central Auditing Apparatus, the official newspaper, issue 23, Nov.9, 1988.
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| 57c: In practice, citizens can access the audit reports at a reasonable cost. | ||||||||
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Comments: In practice, citizens cannot access the audit reports of the Central Auditing Apparatus at a reasonable or unreasonable cost. Only the presidency and the legislature can receive its reports. References: Law no. 144/1988 establishing the Central Auditing Apparatus, the official newspaper, issue 23, Nov.9, 1988.
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