PM orders ministers to prepare for bad weather as winter approaches
CABINET WATCH- Until it signs off on a debt control strategy, the Cabinet will make hay with new loans while the sun shine. Ministers approved a number of other decisions,including financing agreements with international lenders such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and European Investment Bank (EIB). Those include:
- Approving a EUR 395 mn agreement between the EIB and Housing Ministry to finance the first phase of sewage water treatment projects in Fayoum;
- Signing off on a EUR 205 mn loan agreement with EBRD to finance infrastructure development for the Cairo Metro Line 1;
- Signing off on a USD 500k grant from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization for projects on water conservation and production.
Streamlining procurement of government assets: The Madbouly Cabinet also approved a decision at its weekly meeting yesterday that makes the General Authority for Governmental Services the main agency responsible for the procurement of any assets or commodities for ministries and other agencies within its domain, such as cars, for example. The decision means to streamline state procurement procedures and aid in rationing expenditures, according to a cabinet statement.
Winter is coming, warns PM: Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly ordered the Local Development Ministry to begin taking the necessary precautionary measures ahead of an expected spell of bad weather this winter, after the national weather service warned earlier this week that the third week of September may come with torrential downpours in the northern and southernmost corners of the country, as well as in the Sinai.