The female touch

By Doha Abdelhamid

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Disgruntlement and chaos are everywhere. Many in the streets whisper timidly in my ears affirming so. Currently, many believe that subsidies will be lifted though pro-poor policies are part of the raison d'être and political promises of the current government. Despite repeated announcements by President Hosni Mubarak concerning the supreme status assumed by social protection policies, citizens remain anxious and sceptical. This can only be attributed to instances in which government policies were reversed and announcements retracted abruptly. Thus there is a trust problem between citizens and the state. And undoubtedly there are beneficiaries of the chaotic feeling in the hearts and minds of many Egyptians at this critical juncture.

Were I prime minister I would have had a well-crafted media campaign addressing the subsidy policy. I would have rushed the same day to take up President Mubarak's invitation for a food subsidies dialogue. I would have released the deliberations of my four concerned ministerial committees that conceptualised and proposed solutions to all aspects of the subsidisation problem in Egypt. I would have told the truth about the state of the country's public finances. I would have spoken to the heartfelt pains of the unemployed and disempowered poor. And after announcing my best proposal, I would have left it to the people to decide.

I would have ensured easy access to my office whereby everyone affected or unaffected would be able to send his or her uncensored opinion directly to an evaluating team for honest consideration. All this, of course, if I were Egypt's first female prime minister!

This week's Soapbox speaker is a visiting professor of public policy evaluations at Carleton University, Canada.