CAIRO: As part of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal with Egypt for $4.8 billion, the Egyptian government was required to increase taxes on a number of staples. On Monday, the government increased the cost of cooking gas, putting more economic struggle on the lower and middle classes in Egypt. The supply ministry said cooking gas cylinders for residential use will cost 60 percent more, and they will double in price for businesses. For Mohamed Omran, a 38-year-old father of three and husband, this will eat away at their monthly spending. “We just can't afford all these price rises,” he told Bikyanews.com on Monday. “We are facing hard times and it is almost impossible to be able to feed my family. I don't understand why the government is doing this at this time when money is hard to find and work is limited.” For the electrician, “the market has too many people already and I get work every few days so it is hard to make a good living.” Omran earns around 500 Egyptian pounds a month, approximately the average salary for Egyptians, but the continued food price hikes and other necessities rising, life has become difficult. And it is all part of the government's goal of inking the loan deal with the IMF. The government is under pressure to cut subsidies to secure a $4.8 billion IMF loan and contain a budget deficit that has soared during two years of political upheaval since President Hosni Mubarak was overthrown. The IMF's Middle East and Central Asia Director Masood Ahmed was quoted by local press as saying the international financial body is currently in a review of the government's new procedures for reducing its deficit. That is a prerequisite for resuming talks to ultimately finalize and sign the loan deal. “Egypt's government is determined to move forward and is fully cooperating to seal the loan deal, there are just a few minor complications that it needs to overcome before it can receive the loan," explained Ahmed. Ahmed added that the IMF must be fully convinced that Egypt will be able to fully implement the loan program before it can give a final agreement on the loan, Egyptian state-run news agency MENA reported. In December, Egypt asked the IMF to postpone the loan deal worth $4.8 billion as it did not want to implement tax increases that enraged many Egyptians across the country. The tax increases were part of IMF stipulations for the loan agreement, which was approved recently by the international development organization. BN
