Government policy statement includes realistic programs to enable low-income brackets afford living costs

The Egyptian government will brief President Hosni Mubarak on the main features of its policy statement due to be delivered by Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif to the People's Assembly on December 19.

The statement includes programs and plans drown up to face challenges of the upcoming stage on the socioeconomic level in addition to some draft laws to enlarge the public participation in the political life. The statement envisages realistic programs to support the low-income brackets and enable them to afford living costs and avert side effects of the economic reform process.

Cabinet's sources told AI-Ahram that the next Tuesday meeting under Dr. Nazif will discuss the main features of the statement in the light of every ministry's plans and executive programs for 2005. The sources said the statement will focus on devising realistic programs to deal with the people's problems notably unemployment, price control and cutting the rate of birth.

The sources added the government's program to fight unemployment depends on providing a favorable investment climate that encourages the private sector to involve in mega projects that could absorb high number of laborers and export their products. Volume of investments in the first quarter of fiscal year 2004/2005 hit about LE 17 billion.

The government in the statement will emphasize that it will go on the policy of basic commodities subsidy but in a rational way that ensure it is actually provided to the low-income families.

The sources pointed out that the government will assert it is still committed to achievement of its targets in the economic reform through upgrading the performance of customs and taxes facilities and the banking sector to score a rate of growth of 5 percent which actually reached 4.8 percent in the first quarter of the fiscal year where the gross domestic product hit LE 212.9 billion with 12.0 percent up than figures of the same period last year.

The cabinet in its meeting will also review some measures to improve balance of payment, raise the state's revenues of hard currencies, rationalize the public spending and improve financial status of the state civil servants.