CAIRO: “Do not forget the poor, was the message at the heart of Minister of Trade Rachid Mohamed Rachid’s keynote address on the last day of the Euromoney Egypt Conference Wednesday.
At the end of two days of talks about a successful year for the economy and the challenges facing Egypt’s continued development, Rachid’s speech stressed that the poor will not be left out of Egypt’s move towards growth.
“Despite all the numbers we’ve been surprised with in our economic performance; despite the fact that we’ve beaten all expectations; despite having been able to achieve record numbers in different areas of the economy that have impressed many stakeholders, a continuous challenge [remains]: Dealing with poverty in Egypt [and] disparity of income, Rachid said.
At a time of economic reform and as the country opens up to an increasing number of private enterprises, the minister explained, people who have the skills and resources are the ones who benefit the most. This creates a disparity of income.
While sustaining these “record growth levels is one way to tackle this problem, “we [also] need to fuel our resources . and focus on sustaining productivity, he added. “We need to ensure productivity is improving because without it we will not be able to eliminate the poverty that a [substantial] proportion of the population faces today.
In attempts to increase productivity, consumers should come first, a process that Rachid said would enhance trade, industry, productivity as well as competitiveness.
“When we talk about addressing poverty and productivity improvement, we need to touch upon basic infrastructure. We need to look at infrastructure; not in terms of roads, ports, railways and airports that move goods and people, but in terms of an extension to move the economy ahead, he continued.
He said that investors are attracted to areas with the best resources. “Investors will not consider a place like Upper Egypt unless we offer them a comprehensive package with incentives [such as tax reductions and investment facilities], infrastructure, and a skilled labor force.
Rachid reiterated the importance of human resource development. “In reality, the problem isn’t finding jobs for the people anymore. It is finding the right people to fill these jobs. The government has already taken steps to improve the skills of graduates by offering some vocational training.
At the same time, a productive management system has to offer on-the-job training. “The real solution lies in [restructuring] the education system, but developing [that] will not happen in the next few years. It will take a long time and we cannot wait on productivity until education gets better.
The minister also called on the private sector to play a role in eradicating poverty and income disparity by providing qualified employees and a well-trained workforce with higher salaries. “It’s a tough challenge but one that we have to face with the private sector.
“The challenge with any reforms taking place in any country is the ability to carry the people with it and engage them in this reform. Nobody is saying that reform will be equally distributed among the population, and that is income disparity, Rachid said.
“It is [inevitable] that some people get richer while others don’t. Trickle-down is not an instant process. It takes more time than people are willing to wait.
In reality, he said, the situation is frustrating to some people because they wonder: “If things are flowing, why we’re left out?
In response to that, he says, “Any reform made today will affect people five years from today. How can we make people wait? It’s a challenge many governments have faced.
