EGYPT WATCH
The Secretary General of the Peasants Syndicate is set to
announce a quick plan to control prices in the Egyptian market within hours,
and has told Al-Masry Al-Youm: “If the price of tomatoes
increase, we will use sauce. And we can cut out lemon and eggs.”
Sada el-Balad has broadcast about the
reduction of bread subsidies. The Ministry of Supply has stated that a new food
subsidy system would start from August 1. The citizen’s share of subsidised
bread will be reduced from 5 to 3 loaves but he will receive this reduction as
cash or any other commodity.
Electricity
The
Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy has started applying the 14.9 per
cent increase of electricity prices. The increase will be applied on
electricity bills by the end of July according to Masrawy, to be distributed as follows: the
first segment from zero to 50 Kw, 30 piasters/Kw/H. The second segment from 51
to 100 Kw, 40 piasters/Kw/H. From zero to 200 Kw, 50 piasters/Kw/H.
In response
to the electricity price rise the newspaper Akhbar el-Yom has written a news piece entitled: “17 pieces of advice
for electricity consumption; avoiding the high bill.”
Gasoline
It seems
that websites and newspapers are paving the way for an imminent gasoline price
increase. Masrawy wrote about gasoline prices in Arabian countries: “Egypt,
Kuwait and Algeria are the cheapest.” The same news website advises avoiding
this increase completely by using something else. The website added, “after gasoline increases, step by step
how to make your car work using natural gas.”
Al-Wafd
newspaper wrote that on Thursday morning the
Ministry of Petroleum hinted that there was an expected increase in fuel prices
and the ministry alarmed its general secretaries to open the operating room as
of today at 8am.
Mada Masr
website tweeted away from the flock of these newspapers and magazines that it
has published a detailed report about the fuel prices prepared by Beesan Kassab
entitled: “Remove subsides for fuel. When will this be applied and how will it
influence the prices?” For more details see this link.
On Friday
morning, Egyptian woke up to the news of the new prices: EGP 9 up from EGP 7.75
for petrol 95, EGP 8 up from EGP 6.75 for petrol 92, EGP 6.75 up from EGP 5.5
for petrol 80.
Supply subsidies
The
Ministry of Supply and Internal Trading announced last Monday the exclusion of
10 segments from the supply subsidies, according to Akhbar el-Yom.
The second
stage standards of non-eligible persons included the exclusion of whomever
electricity consumption was more than 650 Kw/ month, whomever had a cellphone
invoice of more than 800 EGP/ month, whomever the school fees of one of his
sons was more than EGP 30,000 a year, whomever possesses a luxury car or a 2014
car and beyond, besides whomever works in a senior administrative position,
without prejudice to pensioners.
While the
third stage standards included the exclusion of whomever the average of school
fees of his sons more than EGP 20,000, whomever possesses more than 10 acres of
land, whomever pays more than EGP 100,000 for taxes, the owners of companies
whose capital exceeds EGP 10 million, and whomever possesses more than one 2011
car and beyond or a single 2015 car and beyond.
In this
regard the Minister of Supply commented: “Whomever his income is more than EGP
10,000 won’t receive any supply subsidies,” according to Masrawy. The minister
added that “every citizen has the right to receive its full share of support
away from opportunists or exploitation, there must be a disciplined, respectful
system.”
The Dollar
The dollar
lost 7 piasters against the pound within two days according to Al-Masry Al-Youmwhich quoted a banking expert
that the cause is the increase of foreign currency supply in banks and currency
exchange bureau and the decrease of demand, and he expected a continuing
decline in the next period to break the barrier of EGP 16.50 within a week.
In this
respect Akhbar el-Yom quoted a video in which Tawfik Okasha says:
“The dollar will decrease to 5 EGP.” He added, “The glorious German investment
itself has increased to just $7 billion, and ours has increased to 8 billion.
That means by the end of the year it will reach $29 billion profits from
exports.”
Pensions
There is good news from the government in Akhbar
el-Yom concerning the payment of July pensions with the new augmentation. Prime
Minister Moustafa Madbouly gave his instructions to the Minister of Social
Solidarity to prepare an operating room to follow up the process of July
pensions payments in the entire country for 9.8 pensioners and beneficences,
starting from next Monday July 1 for the pensions paid by insurance funds. He
also gave his instructions to take all the necessary measures to prepare
the ATMs and pension’s payment to overcome barriers for pensioners and eligible
people.
The Minster
of Social Solidarity emphasised that the augmentation decision came in favour
of the lower pensions segments; that the minimum level of this augmentation is
150 EGP/month and the maximum level is 832.5 EGP/month, besides the amount due
is calculated regarding the entire pension and its augmentations to 6-30-2019.
Loans
The World
Bank has approved the extra funding for the Takaful and Karama project, which
will be $500 million from the World Bank for “social safety nets,” according to Masrawy.
There is
another loan worth $25 million from the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development. The bank explained that the private sector will benefit from a new
loan worth $25 million which will be paid to the United Industrial Co. for
Metals, copper pars manufacture and supply company for many local producers.
EBRD paid a previous loan worth $25 million to the same company in 2017,
according to Sada el-Balad website.
Military receiver
The Arab
Organisation for Industrialisation, one of the pillars of the military industry
in Egypt, has introduced its first digital receiver supported by satellite and
terrestrial services, according to Al-Ahram.
Al-Watan
has published a news item entitled “the prices
and sales outlets of the satellite terrestrial receiver,” and added that you
can get the receiver from Arab Organisation For Industrialisation outlets for
EGP 300.
Wages
The
government has approved the minimum wage. Al Shorouk reports that the council of
ministers approved during his meeting today the draft decision of approving the
minimum wage for state, public bodies and public economic bodies’ officials and
workers who are assigned and non-assigned by the civil service law under
79/2019 law of general budget allocation of the financial year 2019-2020.
This law
has been prepared to determine the minimum wage of salaried state officials.
The draft decision has included that the minimum total wage received by any
employee or worker as of July 2019 as follows: the excellent grade 7,000
EGP/month; the high grade 5,000 EGP/month; the general manager 4,000 EGP/month;
the first grade 3,500 EGP/month; the second grade 3,000 EGP/month, the third
grade 2,600 EGP/month, the fourth grade 2,400 EGP/month, the fifth grade 2,200
EGP/month and the sixth grade 2,000 EGP/month.
Judiciary
The
administrative court canceled a governmental decision to tax iron ore.
According to Al-Aharam, the administrative court has
canceled the decision of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Small Industries
No. 346 that impose 15 per cent fees on belt (iron ore) import. The court
committed the decision to the college of commissioners to provide input.
The
president of the metal industries chamber Jamal al-Garhy said that the decision
has come in favour of the national industry. Al-Garhy emphasised the state
protection of the investment environment in the various sectors, then he added
that the steel industry was collapsing as a result of shutting down of 22 steel
rolling factories.
The steel
rolling group, a combination of 22 factories, opposed the decision of the
Industry Ministry, then issued a statement within three days that said the
group had submitted documents confirming the damage, which affects the steel
industry as a result of the decision to increase taxes, according to Masrawy.
Human rights
New
defendants have been accused in “the plan of hope,” according to al-Manassa. Among them is the labour activist
Fatima Ramadan and al-Ghad party founder Ayman Nour, who resides in Turkey. The
defence panel insisted the defendants were remanded
until they had inspected the prosecutor’s decision, as mentioned by Mohamed
Eissa, part of the defence panel.
The court
insisted the defendants “couldn’t be moved from custody,” according to Eissa,
in response to complaints from Eissa and other lawyers about their clients being
prevented from attending the court session.
Al-Manassa website
has published that several demands have been made to allow the lawyer Mohamed
Ramadan to see his mother after she was moved to intensive care. Several
lawyers have filed demands to release Mohamed Ramadan and allow him to visit
his ill mother. Ramadan is being held in pre-trial detention under the case
known as the “yellow vests.”
Alaa Abd
El-Fattah has taken legal action against the President, the Minister of
Interior, the Giza Security Chief, the Giza Governor and the Doqqi Police
Station Chief to allow him to take a laptop and mobile phone into the police
station from 6pm to 6am, according to The Egyptian Centre for Economic and
Social Rights, as mentioned by Mada Masr.
Syndicates
According
to Al Shorouk 17
candidates are competing to be President of the Musicians’ Syndicate. The most
prominent candidates are Hussien Khairy and Mona Mina.
The Bar
Association declared on Al-Watan newspaper
that there will be no extension of the subscription renewal of 2016 card
holders.
An Al-Watan headline
read: “Withdrawal of the land allocated to journalists’ hospital.” A source
from the Journalists Syndicate has said that the Ministry of Housing and 6th Of
October City Authority submitted a letter to the syndicate reporting the
withdrawal of land which was allocated to construct hospitals for journalists
in 6th Of October City.
