Egypt’s Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait has said that the government will transfer EGP 1bn, on Saturday, to pay the second batch of the second phase of the country’s exceptional aid to irregular labourers.
The transfer comes in implementation of the presidential directives to support the sectors and groups most affected by the repercussions of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.
Under the initiative, registered irregular workers will receive a sum of EGP 500, with more than EGP 4.3bn having been disbursed of the exceptional aid since the beginning of the pandemic.
In a statement on Saturday, Maait said that the exceptional aid contributes to reducing the burden on citizens, through the Ministry of Manpower’s Emergency Fund.
The minister added that regular employment salaries have been disbursed to workers in the affected sectors, particularly Egypt’s tourism, and spinning and weaving sectors.
He said that the first half (H1) of the current fiscal year (FY) has witnessed a 35.8% increase in social protection allocations. This reflects the state’s priority in providing the largest amount of support for the most vulnerable groups, with 100,000 families of those eligible for the “Takaful and Dignity” programme added. These families received cash assistance as of mid-April to help them face the economic hardships of the pandemic.
Maait said that President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi directed for the allocation of EGP 100bn at the beginning of the pandemic’s presence in Egypt, to finance the state’s plan to confront its repercussions.
He said that since the beginning of the pandemic, the government has taken immediate measures to support the country’s healthcare sector.
As part of this, the government allocated EGP 1bn to the Ministry of Health and Population, to provide basic needs of preventive supplies. With the beginning of the second wave, the government initiated a further EGP 1bn, bringing the total additional amounts available to support Egypt’s health sector since the start of the pandemic to EGP 14.4bn.
