Cairo - Egypt's ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) began its fifth annual conference on Saturday, promising to tackle chronic education, housing and health issues, as opposition voices accused the government of economic policies "skewed" in favour of the rich.

Acknowledging the difficulties and challenges that face NDP's performance, NDP Secretary-General Safwat el-Sherif lashed out at the party's critics for what he called "baseless" attacks.

The conference comes after a tumultous summer in Egypt, in which a series of high-profile disasters and political scandals called into question the NDP's stewardship as rarely before.

"People are bored hearing baseless attacks every year," El-Sherif told the conference.

El-Sherif vowed to stand firm against campaigns that target the party's image. These campaigns, he said, became a tradition that flourishes especially before the conference.

Critics blame the NDP for failure to ease economic hardship, as unemployment and inflation hit most of Egypt's 78 million people harder than in previous years.

In September a rock-slide in a Cairo slum killed over 100 people, sparking accusations of governmental callousness and indifference. Later in the month prominent NDP figure Hisham Talaat Mustafa was arrested on murder charges.

Opposition groups, including the unofficial coalition Kifaya and the April 6 Movement, have said they will prepare an alternative agenda to that propagated by the NDP conference.

Kifaya leader George Ishaq told the Cairo-based English language newspaper al-Ahram Weekly that the group will focus on criticising NDP economic policies which for more than three decades have been skewed in favour of the rich.

"The NDP's policies, especially from 1990 on, have made the rich richer and the poor poorer," he said. "Under the NDP we have returned to a pre-1952 situation (the year of the Egyptian revolution), with less than one per cent of Egyptians dominating wealth and power and more than half of the population living below the poverty line."

Meanwhile, NDP chairman President Hosny Mubarak will, later in the evening, address the 3-day gathering convened under the banner "A New Style of Thinking for the Future of Our Country," focusing on the challenges facing Egypt.

Mubarak's speech is to outline the party's vision and strategy in dealing with the global food and financial crisis.

A day would be devoted to the impact of global financial meltdown on Egypt, Gamal Essam el-Din, an Egyptian journalist specialized in parliamentary affairs told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

The conference will also review progress made towards implementing President Mubarak's 2005 presidential election programme.

Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif is scheduled to deliver a speech on Sunday highlighting the government's success in implementing the programme three years after it was announced in the summer of 2005.

The conference's most important debates will be led by Gamal Mubarak, President Mubarak's 45-year-old son and chairman of NDP's powerful Policies Committee.

He will begin by reviewing "The Strategic Vision of the Ruling Party", a wide-ranging report compiled by the Policies Committee and which covers poverty eradication, economic trends, citizenship rights and democratisation, said Essam el-Din.

The third day of the conference will include a press conference with Gamal Mubarak, at which questions about his political ambitions are expected to be posed.

Gamal Mubarak has been the focus of speculation regarding his expected succession of his father since 2002, when he became chairman of the NDP's Central Policies Committee.

Both he and President Mubarak have repeatedly denied such ambitions. (dpa)