President stresses importance of subsidy system governance
President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has given directives to ensure easing citizens’ burdens, maintaining sufficient reserves of goods, particularly basic ones, and providing them at reduced prices.
He also stressed the continuity of presidential initiatives aimed at supporting the neediest segments, meeting citizens’ needs during Ramadan, and fostering collaboration with the private sector to provide high-quality products at fair prices, Presidency Spokesman Ambassador Mohamed El-Shennawy said in a statement.
President Sisi’s directives to this effect came in the course of a meeting he called on Sunday with Prime Minister Dr Moustafa Madbouli, Supply and Internal Trade Minister Dr Sherif Farouk, the Head of the Armed Forces Financial Affairs Authority Lieutenant General Ahmed El-Shazly, and the Executive Director of the Future of Egypt for Sustainable Development Agency, Colonel Dr Bahaa El-Ghannam.
Expanding social protection networks and enhancing the subsidy system to ensure that support reaches those who truly deserve it were also considered during the meeting.
In this respect, President Sisi emphasised the inclusion of beneficiaries from programmes such as “Takaful” & “Karama,” as well as the families of martyrs, within the susbsidysystem. He called for adopting efficient procedures to guarantee targeted aid for the neediest strata, spokesman Shennawy said.
Additionally, the discussion dealt with the activation of the commodity exchange and its pivotal role in promoting food security and ensuring a sustainable supply of basic commodities at reasonable prices, given this exchange’s status as a strategic mechanism for breaking intermediary chains and curbingmonopolistic practices, together withstrengthening a unified purchasing mechanism to stabilise market prices.
President Sisi further highlighted the strategic importance of transforming Egypt into a regional logistics hub for trading essential goods, bolstering its economic statusregionally and internationally.
During the meeting, the minister of supply and internal trade presented an update on the strategic reserves of basic commodities, indicating that it suffices for six months.
In such a scope, the president instructed the government to ensure sustainable food security, increase the strategic reserves of basic goods, enhance market oversight to prevent monopolies, spokesman Shennawy said.
President Sisi further called for developing integrated policies to improve production efficiency, reduce waste, and strengthen supply chains, together with enabling the private-sector to contribute to the achievement of the balance of prices and improving food quality, the Presidency spokesman said.
