Mohamed Maait, Minister of Finance, has affirmed that the next period will witness more meetings with representatives of the business community to determine its needs in light of the ongoing exceptional global conditions.
Maait said: “We will continue our efforts to put the debt-to-GDP ratio on a downward path, reduce its burdens, and develop public financial management, by pursuing more flexible fiscal policies that are able to deal positively with internal and external shocks, and achieve economic and development goals.”
He added: “We are keen to continue modernizing and mechanizing the tax and customs systems in their various terms, in order to simplify procedures and facilitate procedures for the business community, in a way that enhances efforts to stimulate investment, attract more local and foreign investments, and is consistent with the state’s orientation towards empowering the private sector, and increasing its contributions to economic activity, which helps in maximizing our production capabilities, expanding the export base, and raising the competitive strength of Egyptian products in global markets.”
Maait reiterated that the state’s general budget is able to fulfil all obligations, including wages and pensions, social protection for vulnerable citizens, debt payment according to the specified timetables, saying, “As we succeeded together, the government and the people in dealing positively with the Coronavirus pandemic. Together, we will also overcome the harsh negative effects of the war in Europe, and proceed with efforts to contain its repercussions, in a manner that contributes to alleviating the burdens of imported inflation on citizens as much as possible, and sustaining the provision of their basic needs.”
The Minister of Finance said: “We are continuing to implement the presidential mandates, to provide the financial funds required to meet the basic needs of citizens, and to arrange the necessary funding for social protection for the most needy groups, including the recent exceptional package, which ranges between EGP 11-12bn, and is represented in the inclusion of an additional million families in ‘Takaful and Karama’ programme, bringing the number of beneficiaries to more than 20 million citizens nationwide, and disbursing exceptional aid to 9 million families for a period of 6 months, including the most needy groups, pensioners who receive a monthly pension of less than EGP 2,500, and workers in the state’s administrative apparatus who receive a salary of less than EGP 2,700 per month, and enhance food security for poor families, mothers and children, by expanding the offering of subsidized food commodities at half the cost.
Maait noted that the financial allocations for social protection programmes in the current fiscal year’s budget amount to about EGP 490bn.
