Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli asserted that despite all “unprecedented” challenges the state’s performance has proved that Egypt has a strong economy capable of withstanding big crises.
This came in a press conference he held on Thursday 25/8/2022 following a cabinet meeting in the New Alamein City, said a press statement by the cabinet media office.
The cabinet meeting was attended by Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait, Minister of Supply and Internal Trade Ali el Moselhi, Minister of Social Solidarity Neveen El Qabbag as well as representatives of major civil society institutions and non-governmental associations.
Madbouli said that the press conference aims at announcing a new economic stimulus package through providing additional social protection for citizens as of early September. This package was devised upon directives by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi to the government to work in cooperation with the civil society institutions with the aim of countering the negative impact of the international crisis resulting from the Russia-Ukraine war.
He said the cabinet meeting reviewed a number of files topped by the economy, noting that the initial indicators of the 2021-22 fiscal year revealed that the Egyptian economy growth reached 6.6 percent, which is the highest rate of economic growth to be recorded over the past years despite the tough challenges that faced the state in the last quarter of the fiscal year.
He also pointed out that the unemployment rate reached 7.2 percent, which is another good indicator.
The real challenge that faced the Egyptian sate in the just ended fiscal year was the rise in inflation rates which hit 14.6 percent according to the latest statistics released by CAPMAS, he added.
The premier also noted that the state is trying to have better tools to be able to show more flexibility during times of crises, noting that this year strategic reserves hit EGP 130 billion, a thing which enabled it to implement a number of initiatives and social protection packages such as the one declared today.
At the press conference, Madbouli said the number of new born infants reached 2,185 million, while deaths ranged between 500,000 to 550,000 citizens, and this will cause a population rise of 1.6 million people.
Such a huge increase will need solidarity among us all to implement a 10-year program which aims at determining the number of children to be only two for every family, a matter which could greatly contribute to reducing the population growth.
He called on social media and civil society organizations to unite their efforts with officials to implement such promising program that will decrease the population growth to be one million new borne each year for a period of 10 years.
The premier also highlighted the new stimulus social protection program that will benefit as many as 37 million citizens registered in the ration cards system, adding that the new rise will be implemented as of the 1st of September.
Commenting on the “Takaful and Karama” program, the premier noted that half a million families will be added to the program and an EGP 3 billion will be allocated for the new increase from the public fund’s reserve.
Source: State Information Service Egypt