Sisi assures public about economic conditions

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi made a tour yesterday of a number of development projects in Beni Sueif.

The president also offered condolences to the families of Egyptians who lost their lives in the natural disaster that struck neighbouring Libya last Sunday.

Around 150 Egyptian nationals have so far reported dead because of Storm Daniel that hit the north-eastern Libyan city of Derna, leaving apocalyptic devastation behind.

After making a tour of the development projects in Beni Sueif, the president addressed a congregation of governorate dignitaries and ordinary people about the conditions of the national economy.

The president said he was mindful of the suffering of the members of the pubic as a result of the current tough economic conditions.

He said the government spared no effort in trying to mitigate the effects of the international financial and economic crisis on Egyptians.

“The effects of this crisis would have been much bigger, without our preparedness and the effective economic measures we took,” President Sisi said.

He added that Egypt had succeeded in handling the crisis and overcoming its critical stage.

“We did this even without stopping production or suspending the movement of comprehensive development,” the president said.

At the end of his speech, the president took a series of measures to alleviate the economic suffering of the various members of society.

The following measures were decided by the president:

• 100 per cent  increase in exceptional cost-of-living allowance (to EGP600 from EGP300) to civil servants
• Increasing minimum income for sixth-degree employees to EGP4,000, from EGP3,500
• Raising the tax exemption limit by 25 per cent , from EGP36,000 to 45,000 for all civil servants
• Increasing support to pensioners benefiting from the Solidarity and Dignity programme (around 5 million families)
• Doubling the extraordinary grant given to pensioners and beneficiaries to EGP600, from EGP300 (around 11 million citizens)
• Speeding up the handover of the technology allowance increase for journalists enrolled in Syndicate of Journalists
• An initiative by the Egyptian Agricultural Bank to relieve burdens on small farmers and individuals defaulting on bank loans before January 1, 2022
• Exempting defaulters from interests and fines to the General Authority for Reconstruction and Agricultural Development Projects until the end of 2024