The Egyptian economy is expected to grow by between 3.5 to 4 per cent in 2012/13, Prime Minister Hisham Qandil said on Tuesday. The economy is also expected to grow by 4.5 per cent in 2013/14, Qandil told reporters as he presented the cabinet's first report of its work in the last three months. Most economists believe that the 4 per cent expected for the current financial year will be hard to achieve. The economy grew at a meagre 2.2 per cent in the financial year that ended on 30 June, 2012. In the 2010/11 fiscal year, the year which saw near stoppage of large amounts of economic activity due to the popular uprising that unseated Hosni Mubarak, the economy grew by 1.9 per cent. Initial figures for the first quarter of 2012/13 – ending on 30 September – have not been released yet by the government. Qandil also unveiled the government's plan of action for the next ten years, shrugging off critics who say the government does not have a vision. In his speech, the prime minister spent some time highlighting the main aspects of the plan and the government's achievements since its appointment in September. He said that the "trickle down" framework that previous governments employed is not sufficient, and the government has decided to abandon this approach. "Economic development and social justice are two faces of the same coin," Qandil asserted. Social justice is on top of the agenda, said Qandil at the press conference. According to the prime minister, the government is mainly working to support education, health and sectors that serve social welfare, and is working in a decentralised manner to assure quick results. Qandil said that the private sector will play a central role in development in the coming period, adding that social justice and development go hand-in-hand. He explained that the government, in this regard, works to support small and medium enterprises. The prime minister stressed repeatedly the importance of assuring that state subsidies reach those in need. He added that one of the major challenges currently being faced was misallocation, with state subsidies benefiting middlemen rather than going to the needy. The government has embarked on a programme to reduce fuel subsidies in the current financial year, and has announced that it will remove subsidies on 95-octane petrol by the end of this week. Many experts estimate that the government's goal to reduce fuel subsidies to LE70 billion in 2012/13 is too optimistic. Last year, subsidies were predicted to reach LE95 billion in the budget, but are estimated to have actually reached LE115 billion, although the actual figures for the year have not yet been released. Responding to accusations that no results can be seen on the ground from the government's work, Qandil pointed out to development in the tourism sector. He gave the example of the re-opening of the southern SinaiTaba port, which "increased the number of tourists by 350,000." Qandil also pointed to developments in security; saying that the police force has lost 65 of its members combating crime. "Police are applying both law and human rights in their work," he asserted.
