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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 21 - 27 September 2000 Issue No. 500 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 21 - 27 September 2000 Issue No. 500
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Elections Development Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Special Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Help from our friends
By Mohamed El-Sayed Said *
The state is still enmeshed in a web of constitutional, political and fiscal difficulties. It continues to surprise us, however, by demonstrating its ability to make progress on the level of social policies. Evidence of this can be found in its intention to introduce new welfare measures such as the extension of medical insurance to all school and university students. Further measures, announced at the beginning of this year, include a monthly allowance for families with no income, stipends for the unemployed, and financial assistance for needy university students.
This last programme is already taking shape, while the others are likely to be either delayed or reduced, simply because of fiscal austerity measures and the lack of real additional revenue.
It falls upon the National Conference on Social Development, which began on Sunday, to find creative means of redressing social imbalances and reaching out to the poorest sectors of society. Society, clearly, must be empowered to help itself through an integrated programme of development and social solidarity. The ruling elite has voiced this view loudly and repeatedly, but the real problem still lies in the policies that cripple NGOs working in all fields. The conference must support demands for liberating these NGOs from legal and political constraints.
The country needs a fresh view of certain fundamental freedoms -- specifically, trade union rights. The collapse of workers' negotiating power is detrimental to social equilibrium. The corporatist approach to trade unionism has proved to be totally bankrupt.
* This week's Soapbox speaker is deputy director of the Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies.
