The Justice and Development Party, the Progress and Socialism Party, and the Popular Movement Party have announced the launch of an initiative to form a parliamentary fact-finding committee to investigate the various forms of government support directed at livestock imports and the livestock breeding sector in general. This initiative comes in response to the controversy that has erupted recently regarding the various forms of support and exemptions provided by the government since the end of 2022 for livestock importers. This support primarily includes exemptions from customs duties, the state budget covering the value-added tax on livestock imports, and direct support for the importation of sheep intended for slaughter during Eid al-Adha for the years 2023 and 2024. The controversy specifically revolves around the circumstances surrounding these government decisions, their effectiveness, the extent to which the announced objectives and effects have been achieved, the actual and full amounts incurred by public finances as a result, the number and nature of importers benefiting from these measures, the extent of government oversight on their compliance with relevant standards, conditions, objectives, and commitments, as well as issues of information transparency, equality, and equal opportunities related to these measures. A statement from the three parties explained that this initiative is aimed «to fully uncover the truth, enlighten public opinion on this issue, and determine whether the various forms of support serve the public interest and not the interests of a limited group». The three parties seek «for the House of Representatives to form a parliamentary fact-finding committee to investigate the facts related to government support for livestock imports since the end of 2022 and the livestock breeding sector in general». The three parties expressed «their sincere desire for all components of the House of Representatives, both majority and opposition, to rally around this initiative, which aims to uncover the full truth, contribute to monitoring and evaluating public policies, improve public decision-making and management, provide conditions to ensure the positive impact of public decisions, and enable the nation's deputies to fully and effectively perform their oversight roles, in accordance with the relevant constitutional provisions». It is worth noting that Article 67 of the constitution indicates that parliamentary fact-finding committees are formed at the initiative of the King or at the request of one-third of the members of the House of Representatives. The three parties do not have enough parliamentarians to impose the formation of the committee.
