Prime minister follows up development projects

Prime Minister Sherif Ismail resumed his field visits to ministries Tuesday to review the detailed data of government projects and programs which will be referred the coming parliament.

Ismail met with ministers of awqaf and industry to determine the plans of each ministry to improve the atmosphere of investment to attract foreign and national investments, provide job opportunities for youth to decrease rates of unemployment to less than 10% by 2018 in comparison to 12.8% currently, improve government services presented to the citizens, expand services offered via the internet and open the horizon for the private sector to present these services with the government.

The program also aims at maintaining the prices of the basic commodities to meets the poor and the low income people, restructure the subsidy system and resume work on achieving social justice by increasing expenses in the fields of health and education.

Minister of Trade and Industry Tarek Qabil presented the ministry’s work strategy to achieve several goals on the short run including solving the urgent problems of the investors and exporters and improving atmosphere of trade and industry.

Qabil said that the program of the ministry aims at decreasing unemployment rates via planning to develop small industries in the governorates and increasing the investments in the field of cement industry to increase the productive power and competitive capacity.

The ministry is about to set a final solution to rescue the stumbling factories via a forming a fund to finance them, Qabil said, adding that there 871 stumbling factories.

Awqaf Minister Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa presented the strategy of the ministry for 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 asserting that main aims of this strategy are to reform and renew religious discourse via rectifying the misconceptions about Islam.

The plan of the ministry is based on achieving social and cultural development and improving the situation of women in the community along with facing sexual harassment and violence against women, Gomaa said.

The ministry participates in supporting the poor and easing the suffering of the people via aid programs and loans, he said.

At the end of the meeting, Ismail asserted the importance to develop the Awqaf system to serve more of the needy segments of the community.

Sources: MENA