Egypt's Public Treasury Authority has paid EGP 160.5bn to the National Organization for Social Insurance (NOSI) as the first instalment of a debt settlement deal between the Ministry of Social Solidarity and the Ministry of Finance. Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait said the payment has been taken to guarantee the necessary financial liquidity to serve pensioners, their beneficiaries, and insured persons, and to fulfil all obligations towards them. The minister said that the state's public treasury will pay the second instalment worth EGP 170bn to the NOSI from the fiscal year (FY) 2020/21 budget, including EGP 35bn representing the five bonuses provided recently for pensioners. Maait explained that the cost of the five bonuses for pensioners amounts to EGP 8bn a year, starting from FY 2020/21. The minister noted that the second instalment will also include the 14% bonus provided for pensioners as of 1 July. "We are continuing to pay the financial obligations to the NOSI as part of the debt settlement agreement during the coming years, and the value of the third instalment will be about EGP180bn," Maait said. The minister pointed out that the rate of increase in the annual debt instalment to the NOSI was modified to 5.9% instead of 5.7%. The amendment was to accommodate the government's measures to improve the living conditions of pensioners, including the five bonuses. Maait noted that the public treasury will pay approximately EGP 1.363trn in total to the NOSI under the debt settlement agreement within seven years since its signing.
