After the final approval of the House of Representatives on the State General Planning Law: Minister of Planning and Economic Development: The new law enables us to keep pace with the latest planning policies in the world

H.E. Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, said that the final approval of the House of Representatives on the draft law on state general planning is an important achievement in the legislative reform process and the development of the planning system in Egypt following the latest international standards.The Minister of Planning and Economic Development extended her great thanks to the House of Representatives, the Senate, the Plan and Budget Committee, and the Economic Committee for the great effort that was made in discussing the law.This came after the House of Representatives announced its final approval of the draft law submitted by the government to issue the general planning law for the state, during its twenty-eighth session of the second legislative term - the second ordinary session.Dr. Hala El-Said indicated that the law aims to draw up an integrated system for balanced development planning, follow up its implementation, evaluate its results at the national, regional, local, and sectoral levels, and define the roles of the planning authorities and partnership mechanisms between them to raise the standard of living, achieve social justice, and improve the efficiency of the use of all state resources and economic growth rates.The law also seeks to enhance competitiveness, improve the quality of life, the efficiency of providing services and facilities, and bridge development gaps, both sectorally and geographically, as well as enhance the participation of actors in the development process, encouraging scientific research and innovation.El-Said added that the law also aims to shift towards decentralization and transfer of powers and responsibilities between different local levels, and to achieve the constitutional entitlements related to local administration, in addition to focusing on issues of follow-up and evaluation, which was not present in the previous law.

The Minister of Planning and Economic Development confirmed that the law enhances the ability of the ministry concerned with planning affairs to carry out the function of follow-up and evaluation of plans and projects at the central and local levels. The law obliges ministries and planning authorities at local levels to submit project follow-up reports regularly to ensure enhanced efficiency and effectiveness. The draft law is also consistent with the articles of the constitution related to the local administration system and decentralization, as the project enables local units to prepare their development plans at different levels.It also gives them the necessary freedom and flexibility to implement these plans, and also encourages them to mobilize more financial resources and direct them to develop investment projects.El-Said explained that the new planning law specified the detailed planning methodology for preparing plans at the national, regional, and local levels while defining the roles played by all relevant parties in a clear and disciplined manner and granting the necessary flexibility to ministries, agencies, and local administration units for financial transfers between investment projects.
El-Said added that the most important characteristic of this draft law is that the process of preparing it came in coordination with all ministries and relevant authorities, foremost of which is the Ministry of Local Development.