CAIRO: Egypt's interim government is working on a roadmap that would better working conditions and the national economy, said Finance Minister Samir Radwan in his first press conference. In a bid to counter pessimistic statements, Radwan declared that Egyptian economy has not collapsed because “it does not depend on a single commodity.” Eizabeth Randall, tourism expert at STR Global, said the tourism industry in Egypt has decreased by 20 percent in the last month and is unlikely to flourish if the political situation does not stabilize. While admitting that general macroeconomic indicators may not be satisfactory, Radwan added that the main goal of the national budget is to “achieve social justice in Egypt” and for the moment Egyptian economy will serve this target. The general budget deficit for 2010/2011 was projected to be 7.9 percent, but is now expected to be around 8.5 percent, added Radwan. Minister Radwan had declared in a statement that he wished to receive “Britain's support in seeking the cancellation of its debt with the European Union” on 21 February. Discussing the issue with British trade and investment minister Lord Stephen Green, Radwan said Egypt was “at least hoping for the cancellation of interest payments, if not its entire debt to Europe.” Wheat, flour and oil have all been made available for the coming period, and reserves of basic commodities are safe, he said. The Egyptian stock marked is scheduled to reopen by 28 March. Breaking the deadlock In his first conference on Saturday, Radwan welcomed Juan Somavia, Director-General of the International Labor Organization (ILO), underlining the importance of this timely visit. He added that an ILO delegation will be soon invited to asses the labor situation on the ground. In the meantime, the ministry is drafting a three-point plan to unlock the potential of the Egyptian economy. As a first point, the Ministry will raise minimum wage, fulfilling one of the main requests put forward by the 25 January Revolution. Minimum wages in Egypt stood at 400 Egyptian pounds (about U.S. $68) according to a ruling by a Cairo court last year. “The economy bases are strong and we are now studying the foreign aids to direct it to the most affected fields with transparency,” Radwan said. The planned salary rise for the public employees would cost 750 million EGP (U.S. $130 million). As a second main point, the Ministry's strategy will aim to fight unemployment by providing 650,000 state job opportunities for graduates every year, Radwan said. Egypt's Manpower and Immigration Minister Ahmed Hassan El-Boraei said he will discuss the possibility of reducing the number of foreign workers in Egypt, on Friday. The ministry wants to give priority to Egyptian workers, he stressed. Egyptian unemployment was recorded at 9.6 percent in 2010, according to the CIA factbook. Nonetheless, there are no details about employment in the black market and reports on work conditions in Egypt are lacking. The third point presented by the government consists of the building of a parallel new valley to the Nile valley. This would create new cultivable areas capitalizing on the existence of underground water. On this last point, the previous government already met much opposition as plans to develop desert areas into new cultivable lands are hardly sustainable without heavily affecting local environment. Moreover, this plan will depend on abundant availability of Nile waters, currently endangered by the recently inaugurated “Massive Nile Dam” in Sudan. Moreover, the construction of a dam in Ethiopia has been announced on Saturday by Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawy. “The finance ministry is studying plans to provide the investors with incentives such as lands and licenses. The Egyptian economy has the capacity to be one of the emergent economies like India,” Radwan added. BM
