Egypt prime minister addresses parliament

Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail addressed on Sunday the House of Representatives to expound the government's program

the prime minister stressed that "the current stage requires from all of us, everyone in his position, to work hard, place the country's interest above any other matter and take tough decisions regardless of any considerations." 

He expounded the seven axes of the government's first statement; preserving national security, reinforcing democracy and social justice, devising the new economic program, improving public services, achieving administrative reform (fighting corruption and enhancing transparency), reinforcing Egypt's leading role in the Arab world and achieving and boosting development in industrial, agricultural and commercial sectors.

Ismail talked about the current challenges besetting Egypt, urging the lawmakers to cooperate with the government to address these challenges, saying legislative, judicial and executive powers are partners in shouldering the responsibilities of nation, especially threats to national security, growing population, high unemployment rates and low-quality services.

Under Article 146 of the 2014 constitution, the policy statement must be debated by parliament within 30 days, after which it will be up to the house whether or not to vote with or withhold confidence in the government.

The session will be recorded and televised later, and will not be aired live, according to Ahmed Saad, secretary general of Egypt's House of Representatives. 

The premier called for pumping more resources to face decreasing economic activities, growing inflation, budget deficit, disturbing balance of payments and the declining competitiveness of Egyptian economy.

the prime minister pointed out that the annual population growth rate reached 2.6% , which represented a serious challenge before achieving sustainable development goals in the country, saying the population rose from 77 million in 2009 to 90 million in 2015.

He told the lawmakers that the government program, which matches Egypt 2030 strategy launched by the president of the republic recently, asserted the importance of going ahead with efforts aiming at achieving security, economic and social development.

He pointed out that Egypt managed in 2013 to rescue the country from falling into anarchy similar to that in other countries in the region and is now trying to wipe out terrorism.

The prime minister said that the government managed to restore Egypt's position at regional and international levels and also managed to down unemployment rate from 13.3 percent in 2013 to 12.7 percent by the end of 2015.

He pointed out that economic growth rate rose from 2.4 percent in 2013 to 4.2 percent by the end of 2015 while the inflation rate decreased from 12.2 percent to 11.5 percent.

Funds allocated for salaries increased from 94 billion pounds after the January 25 revolution to 188 billion pounds now, said the prime minister.

The prime minister said foreign currency reserves declined from 35 billion dollars in 2011 to 16 billion dollars in 2015 which represented a major challenge.

The decline in production led to the increase of imports from 5 billion dollars in 2011 to over 61 billion in 2015, he said, pointing out that the number of tourists also declined from 15 million in 2011 to 10 million in 2015.

Source: MENA