Inflation in Egypt decreases to 5.7%, lowest in 14 years: Prime Minister

Government investments amounted to EGP 324bn over past two years, Madbouly told parliament

Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced, on Monday, that the country's inflation rate decreased to 5.7%, reflecting its lowest level in 14 years.
The government's total investments over the past two years amounted to EGP 324bn, Madbouly said, adding that it had managed to control food commodity prices and increase the supply of strategic goods.
Egypt's newly seated House of Representatives summoned the prime minister and other ministers, on Sunday, to present and answer questions on the government's 'Egypt Kicks Off' programme.
Madbouly praised the role of state-implemented national projects in securing more job opportunities, and noted that the country's unemployment rate currently stands at 7.3%.
The unemployment rate decreased during the third quarter (Q3) of fiscal year (FY) 2019/20 to 7.7%, but later increased to 9.6% owing to the impacts of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Madbouly said.
He added the measures taken by the state aimed at curbing the effects of the pandemic pushed the unemployment rate down to 7.3% in Q1 of FY 2020/21.
In the energy field, the Prime Minister said the total value of the state's investments in research, development, and operation efforts reached $11bn over the last two years.
Madbouly noted that Egypt will not import any oil products from abroad by 2023, achieving self-sufficiency in its energy needs from that sector.
The Prime Minister added that sanitation networks in villages have been extended to reach 38% of service coverage, and noted that 96% of Egyptian cities have sanitation networks.
He added that the government provided EGP 90bn to establish fourth generation cities across the country, including New Alamein and New Mansoura, as well as developing the old Cairo and Maspero Triangle districts.
Madbouly presented the measures taken by the government to reduce the negative repercussions of the COVID-19 crisis. He said that Egypt managed to balance the scales between protecting citizens' lives and keeping the economy open during the pandemic.
He also said that the government has, since the start of the crisis, known that closing the economy would eventually leave the country in a bad place. He added that the government had allocated EGP 100bn to provide financial support for a number of sectors that have been affected by the pandemic.
A total of 20m services have been provided at a cost of EGP 1.7bn, from which 64 million people have benefited, Madbouly added.
He explained that the government had postponed credit entitlements for a period of six months, and cancelled fees and commissions on withdrawals.
The Prime Minister also said that the Ministry of Manpower's emergency subsidies fund had paid the salaries for regular workers in sectors affected by the pandemic.
Meanwhile, he highlighted the government's plans to confront the slums phenomenon, delivering gas to villages and improving water and sanitation services.
Speaking on the plan aimed at developing Upper Egypt, Madbouly said that the government has established about 2,575 projects, and provided 205,000 job opportunities.
Moreover, Speaker of Parliament Hanafi Gebali thanked the Prime Minister for his statements, saying that the government achievements reflected the ambitious vision of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.