Wanting their money back
The consequences, political and otherwise, of the increase in the dollar exchange rate received much interest in the Egyptian press this week. Dina Ezzat reviews the story
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Warning of the increasing economic gap in society where the rich get richer at the expense of the poor, Al-Tagammu', of the left-wing Al-Tagammu' Party, reprinted a 20-year-old cartoon of its sister publication Al-Ahali. A bunch of fat cats are enjoying a very big meal "at the expense of Sayed Effendi" a poor civil servant who can't afford to have something to eat alongside his cup of coffee. In Al-Akhbar, Mustafa Hussein reflects on the public's frustration with the high rate of unemployment. A tour guide, pointing to a large number of seated men on the wall of a Pharaonic temple says, "they graduated in Pharaonic times. They're still waiting to find work."
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This is back to school week in Egypt. It's also a week in which many Muslims like to go to Mecca to perform the Lesser Pilgrimage (Ummrah) . Indeed, this week marks the end of Ragab, the seventh month of the Higra year. Food shopping sprees are traditional at this time, in readiness for Ramadan, the most festive month of the year, now only four weeks away.
Such occasions are festive -- and expensive. Not helping matters has been the unmistakable surge in prices and an acute decline in the purchasing power of the Egyptian pound that has recorded a very serious drop in the face of the US dollar. Hence, headlines of the daily and weekly press are signalling an economic doomsday in the country.
"The price of bread is so high... a 30 per cent increase in the price of all basic foods... Al- Tagammu' leads a demonstration before the parliament to protest the price hikes", read the headline of the weekly Al-Ahali. The paper, printed by the left-wing Al-Tagammu' Party every Wednesday, offered an intense coverage of the increasing signs of the economic crunch.
Similar alarming headlines were carried by other opposition papers of all political trends. The national press was also ready with its own headlines on the economic crisis. "President Mubarak calls for a firm stance by the government to control soaring prices," read the headline of Al-Gomhuriya on Sunday. The daily, known for its close government affiliation, also carried statements by Hassan Khider, minister of subsidies, who promised a quick end to the shortage of bread and soaring foods price hikes.
Talk of the increasing cost of food was not just in the news but also in the many features in the papers and magazines that appeared in Egypt this week. On Wednesday, the weekly magazine Akher Sa'a carried a story on the drop in the number of Egyptians performing the Ummrah this year as a result of the increase in costs. "This year there are only 300,000 Egyptians going to Mecca to perform the religious rites. Last year, 600,000 embarked on this holy trip," the magazine reported.
On Sunday, Osama Anwar Okasha, famed TV drama writer, dedicated his weekly back- page article in the right-wing Al-Wafd to the impact of price hikes on the lives of the disadvantaged who are by far the vast majority of the Egyptian population. Called "Eulogising Fava Beans", Okasha used every sarcastic tool he has, and then some, to lament the fate of the poor in Egypt who now have a very hard time affording even the staple of the poor: fava beans.
The high increase in prices did not concern just food. It seemed to be about everything.
On Monday, in his daily column also in Al- Wafd, its editor Abbas El-Tarabili reviewed the impact of the economic crunch on the day-in, day-out lives of average Egyptians. The government, El-Tarabili argued, had to find a way to contain this economic crisis that was taking a serious toll on every aspect of life of the Egyptian citizens, be it their ability to afford decent education for their children or find adequate housing or start new lives for young couples who want to get married.
And, with close to 19 million students returning to school this week, particular attention was dedicated to the price increase in tuition, school uniforms and even stationary. Pencils and notebooks were becoming too much of a financial burden for the average Egyptian family, wrote Al-Wafd on Saturday.
This week, the opposition and independent press had many stories to report on individuals faced with acute problems in making ends meet. Some, the press reported, committed suicide because they failed to provide for the basic needs of their families, especially with the beginning of a new academic year. Others, the press reported, simply went mad.
Moreover, the hundreds of thousands of unemployed men and women, the press had it, accessed even fewer job opportunities. As for retired civil servants, the situation was not much better in view of the dramatic drop in the purchasing power of their monthly allowances, already small. In some cases even this stipend was reportedly at risk.
On Sunday, the independent weekly Sawt Al- Umma reported that about three million retired civil servants might lose their pensions in view of the failure of their respective syndicates to provide enough funds to pay the monthly allowances.
The opposition and national press disagreed somewhat on diagnosing the problem. The opposition, for the most part, spoke of a failed economic policy by the government that allowed a premature devaluation of the Egyptian pound which resulted in an extremely big increase in the exchange rate of the dollar versus the pound. The opposition was also very critical of the performance of the government on the local economic front. "A total collapse in the financial market with the exchange rate of the dollar reaching LE6.85," the opposition daily Al-Ahrar headlined on its front page.
In fact, according to rates reported on the front and economy pages of some newspapers, it was not just the dollar that was soaring versus the Egyptian pound. Other currencies were also recording higher than average rates. This week, the financial daily Al-Alam Al-Yom reported that the British sterling was exchanged for almost 10 Egyptian pounds and that the Libyan dinar made an unprecedented increase as it was selling for close to five pounds.
All in all, the Egyptian press seemed to agree that the economic situation in Egypt was not good and was unlikely to get better anytime soon.
On Sunday, Al-Alam Al-Yom ran on its front page a quick review of an Egyptian economy progress report that was issued by the US Embassy in Egypt. The story quoted the report to have monitored a slow growth rate of no more than two per cent coupled with a soaring budget deficit.
Concurrent to the release of this report was a news leake about an appeal made to the US administration by 12 Congressmen to exercise economic pressure on Egypt to force a foreign policy change. Al-Osbou', which carried the story on its front page, reported that the US administration should punish the Egyptian government for failing to support US foreign policy on the Middle East, particularly in Iraq.
What went wrong? In an editorial published on Sunday in the daily Al-Ahram, Editor-in- Chief Ibrahim Nafie tried to resolve the "mystery of the drop in the value of the Egyptian pound". Returning to the roots of the problem, Nafie recalled that it was in January this year that the Egyptian government had made "necessary, imperative and important decision" to devalue the pound. Theoretically speaking, Nafie said, the move should have stabilised the exchange rate of the pound to the dollar at a reasonable LE5.60, especially in view of a few decent indicators recorded by the Egyptian economy including a slight increase in the exports rate and the national reserve of foreign currency. The devaluation, Nafie concluded, might have needed better preparation to prevent traders who are now capitalising on liberalisation policies.
Suggesting a way out, Nafie called on the Central Bank of Egypt to make a "very carefully designed but temporary" intervention to fix the situation in the market and deal with the current crisis adequately and promptly.
The economic crisis, argued Mohamed Abdel-Moneim, editor-in-chief of the popular weekly magazine Rose El-Youssef was only "artificial". Economists of all disciplines, argued Abdel-Moneim, have not adequately explained the current economic crunch. The only explanation that could be offered was that some traders were trying to maximise their profits by exaggerating the prices of their commodities and blaming it all on the dollar when in fact many of the items that recorded an increase in their prices were not imported at all.
To comfort an anxious public, the Egyptian press of all colours made sure to print news of the daily meetings that President Hosni Mubarak was holding on the situation and to ensure that basic foodstuffs, particularly bread, were within the price range of all Egyptians, especially the poorest.
Also covered extensively by most segments of the Egyptian press this week were statements made by a number of key government officials, particularly the prime minister, about the current economic straits and the efforts being made by the government to solve the problem. "Pursuing a free market economy is no excuse for traders to charge more for commodities in order to rip off consumers... The exaggerated price hikes cannot be all attributed to the dollar exchange rate," Prime Minister Atef Ebeid was quoted as saying. Ebeid was also quoted for remarks suggesting some promising economic indicators, including an increase in exports. "The devaluation of the Egyptian pound will only increase exports," Ebeid was quoted by Al-Ahram as saying on Wednesday.
Running parallel to the economy stories was one item certain to cheer up those who feel the government is responsible for their financial woes: speculation over a potential cabinet reshuffle. Many newspapers had called for a shakeup while others suggested that a reshuffle was around the corner. Some even started the guessing game of which ministers will stay and who might be leaving.
Predictions were also being made on who might be the next prime minister. Sawt Al- Umma reported a covert feud between Ebeid and his Minister of Finance Medhat Hassanein over the post. Al-Ahali suggested that former Minister of Supplies Fathi El-Goueili is a prime candidate.
One thing was clearly reflected in all articles carried by the Egyptian press in relation to any cabinet reshuffle: there is a pressing need for change. Some advocated the need to change the government and ministers. Others suggested that what Egypt needed most at this time was a change of policies and philosophies.
Talk of change also appeared in press coverage this week over the preparations for the first annual session of the general congress of the National Democratic Party. The NDP meeting, many columnists argued, should be an opportunity to induce much-needed change in the Egyptian system. A shakeup was being asked for. Several informal polls were conducted by Egyptian papers this week to ask what people wanted most from the NDP congress. Many asked for change. Fresh policies that could end the economic crisis and provide for more job opportunities and more civil rights were demanded.
In an interview with Akhbar Al-Yom on Saturday, NDP Secretary-General Safwat El- Sherif promised that a report will be presented to the party's first annual congress to secure more rights and establish clearer guidelines for Egyptian citizens to adhere to.
Away from the economic blues, the Egyptian press carried a few stories related to foreign policy and cultural issues.
With the annual session of the UN General Assembly approaching, Akher Sa'a carried an interview with Ambassador Ahmed Abul- Gheit, Egypt's permanent representative to the UN. Abul-Gheit insisted that the Iraqi crisis will ultimately be dealt with in the corridors of the UN and its Security Council. "At the time the Suez crisis brought serious questions about the role and charter of the UN... it was clearly proven then that the UN had a crucial role in containing this crisis... the same applies to Iraq... The increasing importance of the UN for Iraq will be made clear," Abul-Gheit said.
Another interview that appeared in the Egyptian press this week was conducted by Akhbar Al-Yom with actor Omar Sharif. Sharif spoke about his recent movie, "Ibrahim and the flowers of the Qur'an" that tells the story of a Muslim man who takes in a lonely Jewish boy. "I am very concerned about the reaction of extremists to my movie... I am particularly concerned about the part where I refer to the Qur'an saying, 'I know my Qur'an'," Sharif said.
In the interview, Sharif also spoke of how proud he was of the story and the quality of the movie and his firm decision to take no roles in B movies even if they were to bring money the actor "needs desperately due to an economic crisis that I am passing through".
