The current subsidy system in Egypt is unsustainable while the state targets the most vulnerable groups, the Minister of Supply and Internal Trading, Aly Meselhi, said on Monday.
He added that subsidies are important to achieve social protection and justice. “It is not an economic disaster as some see it.”
Meselhi’s statement came during a workshop organised by the World Bank in cooperation with the ministry of supply under the title “Reform of the ration subsidy system.”
The minister stressed the need for reforming the subsidy system to ensure that eligible beneficiaries receive support.
In March, Meselhi announced that ineligible citizens will be eliminated from the second stage of ration cards. “It does not make any sense that someone who pays EGP 1,000 for phone or electricity bills has a ration card,” he said at the time.
In July 2017, the value of ration subsidy increased by 138% from EGP 21 to EGP 50 per person, after increasing the value of subsidies in the state’s general budget from EGP 45bn to EGP 85bn. The move came to cope with the soaring inflation, following the currency devaluation and the energy subsidy cuts.
