Ebeid outlines ambitious schemes for development and economic growth
Egypt, Economics, 1/9/2002

Egypt PM Ebeid outlines ambitious schemes for development and economic growth

Prime Minister Atef Ebeid yesterday said the Egyptian economy remained strong despite the economic repercussion of the September 11 attacks on the United States and fears of global recession and economic slowdown.

Addressing the People's Assembly (Lower House of Parliament) Ebeid, who assumed office more than two years ago, said that international financial institutions, including the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), have underlined the strength of the Egyptian economy in different economic reports.

He added that the new global conditions, spurred by the US-led war against terrorism, have had a negative impact on the Egyptian economic growth rate.

He expected growth rate to reach 4.8 per cent. The Prime Minister set the government growth rate target at five per cent, adding that such rate could be achieved through economizing the use of hard currency as well as exploring new sources of hard currency to ameliorate state coffers.

Egypt's hard currency revenues, mainly from tourism and the Suez Canal, have been hard hit by the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.

Ebeid estimated the decline in hard currency revenue to reach two billion US dollars.

He said that the government was considering alternative sources of finance to bankroll new LE40 billion-worth investments phased out over the next four years.

Ebeid said that despite economic hardships, the government was committed to providing finance to key state institutions.

He added that the Armed Forces were given all the necessary funds. He stressed that the Armed Forces were contributing to national development by establishing hospitals and reclaiming land.

Ebeid, speaking to the parliament in an annual assessment session, said the government was also committed to providing funds for the police authorities to develop police performance and beef up security nationwide.

A third key pledge by his government was to develop and modernise the judiciary system in Egypt. He also cited new role of Egyptian judges, who supervised parliamentary elections for the first time in Egypt's history last year.

In the coming period, Ebeid said, the government would also pay more attention to modernizing Egyptian mass media.

The Premier vowed that the government will carry out financial adjustment plans to help Egyptian newspapers and other media outlets cope with the latest developments in the Field.

Ebeid said the government was in the process of filling 170,000 vacancies in the monolithic state bureaucracy with job seeking university graduates.

"All the letters of appointment have been sent to those chosen, and the appointments were made according to specifications. Everyone was treated equally,' he said.

Ebeid said that while pursuing an ambitious recruitment programme, the government would espouse the principle of equal opportunities as a main pillar of the scheme.

"There should be complete equality among applicants. Jobs should also be fairly distributed among all Egyptian provinces," said Ebeid, who also served as minister of public enterprises before taking over the cabinet.

He added that in line with the recruitment programme, the government will also carry out a training scheme to groom university and high school graduates for manpower market requirements.

In addition to government jobs, the state will also offer soft loans for youth seeking to set up their own small or medium-scale projects.

He said that the government will also give top priority to cooperation with Arab countries through bilateral and multilateral accords to beef up Egypt's exports.

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