Minister says NGO control is inevitable, temporary

Civil society organizations should go through temporary control, Minister of Social Solidarity Ahmad al-Borai told the privately-owned Al-Masry Al-Youm on Tuesday. 

Borai has formed a committee to draft a new NGO law that he said is about to be finalized. In his comments to the local newspaper, Borai said that the plan to follow the work of NGOs is meant to be temporary and is aimed at confronting "evil groups aiming at destabilizing the country."

According to him, this control is inevitable given the critical threats the country is facing. 

Borai had disbanded the Muslim Brotherhood earlier in October in accordance with a Court of Urgent Matters ruling that stipulated a ban on the group, whose figure, Mohamed Morsi, was ousted from the presidency by the military in July, following popular protests demanding his resignation. 

Egypt's current NGO law 84 for the year 2002 has been commonly criticized for holding a series of barriers such as registration and resources barriers as well as elusive grounds for dissolution if the NGO is deemed to be intervening in governmental affairs. 

The new draft law is being slammed by civil society organizations for adding barriers to registration and to receiving funds. Borai had said that any contention over the draft will be resolved through discussions with civil society organizations before the law is passed.