A report issued Tuesday by the state budget monitoring committee revealed an LE107 billion increase in local government debt in July of this year compared to the same month in 2009. The total national debt reached LE574.2 billion last July--which corresponds to 47.9 percent of GDP--compared to LE467.1 billion--or 45 percent of GDP--in July of 2009, according to the report. The report also noted a decline in expenditure on subsidies and social benefits by 35.2 percent to LE2.8 billion in July, compared to LE3.7 billion in July of last year. Meanwhile, services and commodity expenditures fell by 11 percent to LE800 million in July, compared to LE900 million in the same month last year. Total investment dropped by 36 percent to LE1.3 billion in July, compared to LE2.1 billion in the same month last year, due to the halt of economic incentive programs. Total expenditure fell by 8.1 percent to LE22.7 billion this year, compared to LE24.7 billion last year, due to a reduction in loan interest by 16.6 percent to LE7.2 billion, in addition to the aforementioned decreases in investment and subsidies. Wages, meanwhile, rose by 6.3 percent to LE7.9 billion for the same period. According to the report, the Egyptian economy has recovered from the global financial crisis, with the total deficit falling to LE11.5 billion, or 0.8 percent of GDP, compared to LE14.8 billion last year. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
