The Government of Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif, which strongly supported foreign investments, arguing that this was the only way to boost the economy and reduce unemployment, is now discouraging investors from launching projects in Egypt and even forcing existing investors to liquidate their ventures in the country. The Government's inability to supply industry and a growing population with the energy they need is one of the reasons that makes foreign investors think twice before pumping huge funds into projects in Egypt. Reliable infrastructure and basic utilities at a reasonable price certainly help encourage investments in any country. However, the steady drop in the supply of energy in Egypt has been coupled by growing demands for cutting the energy subsidies on different industries, along with calling on foreign investors to import the energy they need. These policies have had a negative effect on investments in Egypt. The Government argues that such policies are justified, because foreign ventures make huge profits in the country, without really benefiting the national economy. This might seem reasonable, but how can this justification be applied to local investments and public-sector factories? Isn't it astonishing that the State-owned Misr Aluminium factory should have to ask the Minister of Electricity to ensure it has enough electricity, given that, when it was founded half a century ago, it was considered a great industrial complex? The head of the union of the engineering, metal and electrical industry workers recently called upon Minister Hassan Younes to salvage this complex, adding that an erratic supply of electricity at the factory had caused production to fall by 70 per cent. He said that, in just three days, the complex suffered losses of LE70 million! If it is acceptable for the Nazif Government to turn a deaf ear to citizens' complaints about the repeated power cuts to their homes, how can it ignore a giant public factory that has suffered huge losses and is threatened with closure? Is it all a plot to prepare Misr Aluminium for privatisation?
