Présentation de Ragaa Mansour, Unité des égalités de chances, Ministère des Finances, Egypte, à la Conférence Internationale d'Experts sur la mesure et les approches politiques pour améliorer l'équité pour les nouvelles générations dans la région MENA à Rabat, Maroc du 22 au 23 mai 2012.

1. Integrating Equal Opportunity
Principle in Budgets - Egypt
Subsidies’ Reform and Social Protection to Promote Equity
Ragaa Mansour
General Director, Equal Opportunity Unit
Workshop on: 'Enhance Equity for the New Generations in the
Middle East and North Africa‘
Rabat, Morocco – 22-23 May 2012

2. In 2001, the Ministry of Finance approved the establishment of
“Gender Unit” to link between the National Council for Woman
(NCW) and the Ministry of Finance, aiming at promoting equality
for marginalized groups, providing opportunities for participation
in public life, eliminating all forms of discrimination, giving big
momentum for efforts exerted to advance rights of women and
children, and opening opportunities for human resources
development, in addition to other constitutional rights to achieve
complete equity.

3. Objectives of Equal Opportunity Unit
• Promote and integrate budgets responding to needs of both
women and men in the national plan and budget to achieve social
justice for marginalized groups.
• Enhance cooperation and networking amongst the different
sectors in MoF and between MoF and other line ministries.
• Develop staff professional and personal skills and advance spirit of
belonging, which has its positive influence on staff performance as
well as achieving MoF goals to reach equal opportunities.

4. Joint Initiatives with UNWOMEN
Extending partnership with UNWOMEN to achieve the Unit goal to
support developing gender-responding budgets and raising the
ministry staff awareness of gender issues, how to plan for it, and
organizing specialized workshops in the field of:
•Strategic planning responding to man and woman needs and how to
monitor and evaluate it.
•Budgeting for gender-based programs and performance to positively
impact the improving of children status.
•The importance of considering children in state plans and budgets.

5.  Indeed, “Equal Opportunity” project was implemented since 2006,
Starting to identify what are the needs of women, men and children up
to the implementation of gender responsive budgets, which required the
application of programs and performance budgets, undergoing
legislative and legal reforms; significantly required to promote social
justice and fulfill children rights.
 Then, we moved ahead from theory to practice, which necessitates the
commitment of different entities to apply modern and automated
information systems and developing programme and performance
budgets in compliance with the law of the State budget.

6. Objectives of “Equal Opportunities”
Project
•Achieve justice and equity for woman through integrating gender-based budgeting,
that would eventually contribute to the fulfillment of children rights.
•Support efforts of Ministries and Government organizations to bridge the gender
gaps, combating discrimination against women and children, and improving the
efficiency of public expenditures.
•Supportgovernment efforts to alleviate poverty and achieve the Millennium
Development Goals.
•Supportthe Ministry of Finance in applying modern methods in budget development
through applying gender-based programs and performance measurement budgets
and promoting transparency.

7. Project Key Stakeholders
• Ministry of Finance – National Council for Woman.
• Ministry of Economic Development – Central Agency for
Public Mobilization and Statistics – Parliament.
• Media – Academics and Research Centers.
• Civil Society and Women Organizations.
• Netherland Royal Embassy – UNWOMEN.

8. Target Groups
• Ministries and policy makers.
• Ministry of Finance staff responsible for developing,
implementing, and monitoring State Budget.

9. Legislative Changes

10. Budgeting for Women’s Rights
10

11. Social Justice in Housewife sets the Ministry of Finance and
State Budget State Budget equal opportunity
11

12. Lessons Learnt
• Participatory approach to develop gender-based budgets’
manual.
• Political support of Minister of Finance, Directors of Budget
Departments, UNWOMEN, and NCW.
• Coordination between Ministry of Finance and Central
Agency for Public General Mobilization and Statistics.

13. Sustainability
• Restructuring of Equal Opportunity Unit in the Ministry of
Finance.
• Qualified Staff to develop equity-based budgets.
• On-the-job training.

14. What about Child-based Plans and
Budgets?
•Considering child rights?
•Adopting the concept and practice of “equal opportunities”
for children?
•Social protection to fulfill rights for all children?

15. Government Budget 2011/2012

16. Government Social Expenditure
Social protection
expenditure is at around
9% of GDP, and actually
was planned to grow
between 2010-11 and
2011-12
Social protection is by far
the largest component of
social spending, with
health at 1.5% of GDP,
and education at 3.3%
, Source: Arab Republic of Egypt, Ministry of Finance, State Budget 2011/12
and Financial Monthly March 2012

17. How Social Protection Expenditure is Distributed
Among the Population? Several studies have been conducted
to evaluate who is benefiting most
from the current social protection
.policies
A study of the World Bank (2005(
found that out of 100 LE spent in
social protection, 29 LE goes the
richest fifth of the population, while
the poorest
quintile is receiving only 14 LE
While the impact in terms of poverty
reduction is still relevant (more than
10% of the population was lifted
above the lower national poverty line
by social protection policies [mainly
subsidies] in early 2000s(, the
efficiencies of the expenditure is low
. and the leakages very high
(Source: World Bank (2005

18. Social Security and Social Pensions Versus
Subsidies
Social security benefits and social pensions represent less
than 10% of the total Social Protection expenditure in
Egypt.
Subsidies are by far the largest component (around 90%)
of the social protection spending.
In the budget 2011-12, subsidies represented around 27%
of government expenditure, equivalent to 8.5% of the
projected GDP

19. Subsidies Are A Key Component of Government
Spending in Egypt
More than 5% of GDP is
(Government expenditure on subsidies (as % of GDP
spent in oil product
subsidies (which is 2010-11 2011-12
benefiting mainly the Total expenditure on
subsidies 8.64 8.45
richest quintiles of the
population, but which is - Oil products 5.26 6.08
also very important for the - General Authority for Supply
Commodities (food/bread) 1.83 1.20
poorest population
- Electricity 0.49 0.32
(.quintiles - Other 1.06 0.86
Source: Arab Republic of Egypt, Ministry of Finance, State Budget
The food subsidy 2011/12, and Financial Monthly, March 2012
represents around 1.8% of
the Egyptian
. GDP

20. Reforming subsidies
 The need of reforming subsidies is widely recognized and
it is part of the current political debate (and in minimal
part already implemented).
 The process of transformation should be managed very
carefully, in particular to protect the most vulnerable,
within an equity perspective, and considering the highest
vulnerability to poverty of children and women.

21. THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION