The Social Aid and Assistance programme of the government of Egypt - a critical review

Abstract

This paper assesses the Egyptian government's Social Aid andAssistance programme, mainly by interviewing households in two low-income areas of Cairo, and comparing what the programme offers with these households' actual needs and vulnerabilities. This programme exists to support the most vulnerable in Egypt (those who cannot work and are not covered by any other insurance scheme) by providing them with a minimum monthly income. It is meant to benefit in particular the elderly, households with disabled persons, and women who are widows or divorced and bringing up children. The interviewees pointed to many limitations in what was provided, for instance too little money in relation to daily costs and too many eligible people unaware that they could receive it. The research also highlighted problems with the programme's administration -for instance, the hostility of those who managed it towards those who applied, the complex application process (particularly difficult for illiterate people), the documentation required (which many women do not have), the refusals given with no explanation and, even if the application was successful, the long delay before benefits start. of the Association for the Development and Enhancement of Women (ADEW), for facilitating the fieldwork at Ezbet abu Karn, and to the NGO Fat'het kheir, for facilitating the fieldwork in Manteket el-Zelzal. In addition to the interviews described in the paper, the author interviewed 13 people from government departments, international agencies and non-government organizations. Special thanks are due to Professor

Social protection in Egypt: A policy overview

“…Egypt's social assistance program is administered by the Ministry of Social Affairs (MOSA). Along with the food subsidy program and the Social Fund for Development, it is considered one of Egypt's three main safety nets.However, it receives by far the smallest portion of the total budget allocated to these three programs (only 2%) (Sabry 2005). Social assistance is administered as a monthly non-contributory pension; originally named Sadat pensions, the program was renamed Mubarak pensions, and are now officially called MOSA Social Solidarity pensions, 18 "ma' ash al daman," although often still popularly referred to by previous names.…”

“…The non-contributory pension system was established by Law 112 of 1980, the same law that legally extended social insurance coverage to casual workers (Helmy 2008). To be eligible, individuals must not be receiving another type of pension, and must be considered part of one of society's most vulnerable groups, including divorced, widowed, and abandoned women, other women with no male provider, orphans, the elderly, and households in which the male head is unable to work (Sabry 2005). In short, the pensions are targeted toward households with no male provider capable of earning a labor income.…”

“…The value of the non-contributory pension is determined by the size and composition of the beneficiary household. According to Sabry (2005), in the early 2000s this ranged from 50 LE per month for an elderly person on their own to 70 LE per month for a disabled man with three children. The pension value was increased to 124 LE per month prior to the January, 25 th revolution.…”

“…Although pension receipt should legally be means-tested through household visits, the ability to carry this out effectively may be weak (World Bank 2006). On the other hand, ethnographic accounts suggest that determination of whether an applicant meets the means eligibility criteria is based on the subjective judgment of MOSA employees (Bibars 2001;Sabry 2005). Bibars (2001) also finds that access to pensions is complicated by the fact that many women do not have IDs, and that application procedures are long and burdensome.…”

Editorial: The social and political basis for citizen action on urban poverty reduction

“…13. See, for instance, Sabry, Sarah (2005), "The social aid and assistance programme of the government of Egypt: a critical review", Environment and Urbanization Vol 17, No 2, October, pages 27-42. payroll). (14) See, for instance, the mastaans in lowincome settlements in Dhaka, who have a role that is somewhere between that of a local strongman and a leader, an intermediary between local government and the population, and a vote mobilizer.…”