Suppliers of state hospitals complain of being squeezed by the gov’t

The government is apparently squeezing government hospital suppliers, and is using the Auctions and Tenders Act to do it, said the head of the medical equipment division of the Cairo Chambers of Commerce Ismail Abdo. He says the government has not yet increased the prices of medical supplies and equipment to accommodate the EGP float, as per a government decision taken last December. It is using the Tenders Act — which allows the government to withhold advance payments to companies — to force suppliers to sign guarantees it will meet contracts at the price it sets or face being blacklisted, he tells Youm7.