Morsi needs 'a fair chance'

Former Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Hazem al-Biblawi urged the public to give President Mohammed Morsi  "a fair chance" to apply his reforms. He added that issues such as security breaches need to be addressed immediately and "without delay." In an exclusive interview with Arabstoday, al-Biblawi said Egypt is in dire need of comprehensive economic reforms. He stressed that these reforms must reconsider massive funds dedicated to fuel subsidies, and must set a limit on government employees' salaries. In his electoral campaign, Morsi  promised an economic breakthrough in Egypt, which he called the "El-Nahda Project" (Renaissance Project). More than a 100 days after Morsi took office, al-Biblawi said there are no signs of Morsi's project. "I see no signs for the president's 'renaissance'. The people are yet to see credible policies and firm procedures that would make the people feel there is a true change taking place in the country," said al-Biblawi. "We have to give the president a chance before we accuse him of being responsible for Egypt's poor economy," he added. Al-Biblawi said the decision to increase fuel subsidies was suspended only to prevent public uproar. He said this fear is costing the Egyptian economy a great deal, as the fuel subsidies are hindering the government's ability to dedicate enough funds to other sectors like education, infrastructure and health care. Al-Biblawi warned against the rise of the public deficit. He said the debt interest rate on treasury bills reached 16 percent, the highest ratio in the Middle East. On the other hand, al-Biblawi called on the Egyptian government to encourage its public and businessmen to invest in the Egyptian economy. Al-Biblawi said he doesn't believe the International Monetary Fund (IMF) demanded Egypt to devalue its currency in order to give Egypt a $4.6 billion loan. He said the IMF only gives the government advice, not orders. "All the IMF would ask for is to set free the exchange rates of the national currency and not to limit it at a certain rate," he said. "I think the IMF was not satisfied by the Central Bank's decision to keep the Egyptian pound's exchange rates at a certain range. Egypt's Central Bank implemented this in January 2011, mainly by putting restrictions on foreign currency transfers." Al-Biblawi said the reforms in Egypt's economy must be executed as soon as possible because the delay is causing a decrease in Egypt's credit rate, which forces the country to pay high debt interests for its loans.