15 - 21 March 2001
Issue No.525
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 15 - 21 March 2001 Issue No.525 |
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Parliament criticises economic policies
Parliament urged the government to adopt new monetary and fiscal policies with the objective of ending the recession and stimulating economic growth. This came in a 106-page report prepared this week by a parliamentary committee as a response to the government's annual policy statement delivered to the People's Assembly by Prime Minister Atef Ebeid on 22 July 2000.According to the parliamentary report, the economic recession last year caused the value of unsold inventories in industrial public and private sector companies to reach an unprecedented LE8 billion. Worse, the report added, the debts owed to banks by the commercial sector entities that went broke last year reached an estimated LE1.6 billion.
The report criticised the government's measures for tackling the dollar crunch. "The government's reaction towards this crisis was not initiated with necessary speed and resolution, leading to a decline in the pound's value against the dollar from LE3.4 to LE4.2 in one year," said the report.
The report also slammed the government for its failure to reduce the state's domestic debts. "These domestic debts ballooned by LE17.2 billion in a single year, increasing from LE147.6 billion in 1999 to LE164.3 billion in the year 2000," the report said.
In terms of exports, the report argued that the measures taken by the government last year to boost Egyptian exports are insufficient. "This is despite the fact that the volume of commodities exported increased by 43.7 per cent last year. This is a fluctuating, and not constant, increase," the report said.
The report concluded by urging the government to develop a new set of policies. Foremost among them, the report said, are reinforcing the role of the Central Bank of Egypt in forging economic policies, rectifying the distressing financial conditions in state-owned economic authorities and tightening control on tax evasion. The report also urged the government to accelerate the privatisation programme by allowing the buyers total freedom in using the sold assets.
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