Egypt will auction off pricey gifts received by its senior government officials next week, including luxury watches and a solid silver sword, with proceeds going into the public coffers where they belong, the government said 13 June.Cartier and Omega timepieces, silk rugs, ornate vases and a model boat will be among the items on sale next week in an auction organised by Egypt’s Finance Ministry. The auction follows a decision by Prime Minister HishamQandil to forbid officials from keeping gifts valued at more than $100. Proceeds from the sale will be returned to public coffers “to establish the principles of transparency and accountability and protection of public money,” the ministry said in a statement.
Qandil and other officials, including the head of Egypt’s leading Islamic authority Al-Azhar, Grand Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayeb, handed a total of 42 gifts they had received since last July to the ministry. The gifts were from “senior Arab officials, leaders of foreign countries, and international figures”.