President Mohamed Morsy targeted five companies yesterday, stating that they owe the government more than EGP 100 billion. Morsy's lengthy speech commemorating the 39th anniversary of the October war against Israel was turned into a report of sorts on companies' performance and compliance with contractual agreements with the government. One of these companies Morsy named as being non-compliant was Egyptian-Kuwaiti Company Orascom Construction, while others he discussed without naming. Morsy stated before tens of thousands of his supporters that the government is negotiating with these companies to reclaim the government's rights, which he asserted that the government will never give up on. Morsy stressed that the government fulfils its contractual agreements with any party. He added also that the government appreciates the role of the private sector, noting that the private sector employ 17 million Egyptians. The president spoke in detail about companies that had land reclamation contracts with the government and broke these contracts by altering the activity into real estate construction. The president spoke also about other cases where companies committed tax evasion. “Whoever evaded taxes will repay them, and whoever changed the contracted activity will be fined," Morsy stated. This is the first time an incumbent Egyptian president has spoken extensively in a public speech about private sector non-compliance with contractual agreements with the government.
