Egypt's Ministry of Planning follows up the presidential initiative "Decent Life”
06 August 2021
The Ministry of Planning and Economic Development held recently a workshop, via video conference, on the objectives and mechanisms of work of the electronic system to follow up on the national project for the development of Egyptian rural villages “A Decent Life”, with the participation of a group of deputy governors and initiative officials in 15 governorates.
Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, stressed the importance of activating the electronic follow-up of the presidential initiative, which is the largest in the world.
El-Said asserted the need for all parties, especially planning and follow-up officials in the governorates, to participate in the monitoring process and evaluate the impact of the efforts made by the state on the state of development and quality of life in villages to reach sustainable rural communities.
This is within the framework of the Ministry's ongoing efforts in digital transformation and mechanization, and making maximum use of modern technology in planning, follow-up, and performance evaluation processes.
On his part, Dr. Jamil Helmy, Assistant Minister for Follow-up Affairs of the Sustainable Development Plan, and General Supervisor of “A Decent Life” at the Ministry of Planning gave a detailed presentation on the content of the system and its working mechanisms.
He pointed out that it represents the first comprehensive and integrated electronic system, based on the methodology of programs and performance, by linking all development projects and interventions with performance indicators that reflect the results of projects.
Helmy stressed the Ministry of Planning's keenness to continue the efforts it has made over the past years to enhance the capabilities of those concerned with local planning on program methodology and performance, noting that the "Decent Life" system is a practical application in this framework.
Moreover, he said that the system establishes evidence-based planning, by making use of the data provided by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMS), including the comprehensive survey of the characteristics of the local community, to monitor the state of development in the gatherings covered by the initiative.
He explained that the system includes investment projects and economic interventions.
Helmy pointed out that it is linked to the system of spatial variables, and provides follow-up on the ground through modern follow-up methods such as photos, video, and satellite photography.
Helmy pointed out that there is the main committee to manage the project for the development of the Egyptian countryside, A Decent Life in the Cabinet, from which four sub-committees emerge. The fourth is the Performance and Development Indicators Committee, which is responsible for the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development.
Helmy stressed that the goal of preparing the project's follow-up system comes within the framework of the Prime Minister's decision to assign the tasks of monitoring performance indicators related to the project to the Ministry of Planning.
The participants praised the integration of the system in terms of including the various stages of the process of preparing plans and follow-up (financial, in-kind), and follow-up performance at the level of outputs and results, as well as the post-operational follow-up, to ensure the quality of services provided to citizens.
For his part, Dr. Mohamed Mahmoud Abu Zeid, Deputy Governor of Minya, suggested integrating the follow-up systems in the governorates into the “Decent Life” system, to unify the follow-up process.
Dr. Eman Rayan, Deputy Governor of Qalyubia, said that the system contributes greatly to the accuracy of the follow-up of projects and interventions for a "Decent Life", stressing the importance of the integration that the system is doing with the spatial information infrastructure project.
It is worth noting that the workshop witnessed the attendance of a group of deputies of governors and officials of a "Decent Life" with a total of 85 officials in 15 governorates, including the governorates of Minya, Assiut, Sohag, Damietta, Giza, Kafr El-Sheikh, Fayoum, Dakahlia, Qalyubia, New Valley, Aswan, Ismailia Sharqia, Beheira and Qena.