The House of Representatives remained consistent to the end, postponing the final vote on the Civil Service Act until after it reconvenes from recess in October after failing to reach a quorum for the vote for the second time in a week, Al Borsa reports. Among the excuses: many MPs have gone on Hajj. Foot-dragging on the bill could have a far-reaching impact. The government has a full year to implement the law once it passes, arrangements have to be made to pay bureaucrats the 7% annual raise (which is effective retroactively), the executive regulations still need to be passed, and hiring temporary employees has been suspended since June pending passage of the law, the head of the Central Authority For Organization & Administration Mohamed Gamil tells Al Shorouk.

The House did get around to approving yesterday a EUR 68 mn grant from the French Development Agency to finance connecting 450K homes to the natural gas grid, Al Masry Al Youm reports. When Abdel Aal was not striking references to Tiran and Sanafir being Egyptian from the session’s record, the House spent the day basking in its accomplishments. And no, they haven’t tendered the customary report on the latter — they ran out of time. Happy Eid, y’all.