'What certificates?'

Citizens reacted to the proposed plan to give them free shares in public sector companies with disbelief, confusion and amusement, Niveen Wahish reports

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Adham Rabie, aged 43, is a graduate of the Faculty of Economics and Political Science. Right now he is job hunting. The news that the government will give out free shares brought him some hope, but he was keen on finding out more details. He wanted to know which companies will form part of the scheme so that he could follow their performance and calculate how much to expect in profit-sharing. To him, not only would his participation in the plan become a source of steady income, but it could gain him a foothold in the stock market. "I have always wanted to buy stocks, but could not afford it, now I have the chance and at no additional cost," Rabie told Al-Ahram Weekly.

But not everyone is as educated or optimistic as Rabie. Um Mohamed, a 50-year-old woman who sells lettuce and lemons, says if she gets her hands on the certificates she will sell them and use the cash. "What do I know about shares? Feeding my kids is more important," she says.

Um Mohamed and others like her are those who concern Samer Fathi, a government employee. He does not understand why the government chose to present this proposal now. "At a time when many can't afford to buy bread and the world is in the midst of an economic crisis, citizens will be looking out for any source of income and they will rush to sell their certificates," Fathi said. If such is the scenario, he fears that these companies will end up in the hands of a few businessmen. Not only that, but he is positive that once these shares are traded by a large number of people, they will not be worth anything and "they will be sold for peanuts." For his part, Fathi will hang on to his certificates until he finds out how the situation develops.

"What certificates?" laughed Amm Ibrahim, who makes coffee and tea in a government office. He hadn't heard of the proposed plan in the first place. Nonetheless, when it was explained to him he expressed his doubts that the government would ever give anything out for free. "Corruption will find its way, and the likes of me will not get anything," he said. Ibrahim is also concerned that just as he missed out on the news, he and all the poor and uneducated will fail to notice that they have to register for the certificate and accordingly will not receive theirs. Minister of Investment Mahmoud Mohieldin said that there would be a period for each eligible citizen to register should they wish to receive the certificate. Failing to register will mean exclusion.

On a similar note, government employee Howaida El-Amir could not believe that anything would be given out for free. "The whole idea is unprecedented and vague," she said. "What value will shares distributed over 40 million citizens have?" Rather than give out shares, she would prefer to see the government give unemployment assistance to youth, or build a decent home for the elderly. When she gets her certificate, El-Amir does not plan to sell it. "I have already lost a lot in the stock market, so I'll keep this next to my other stocks," she said. She only hopes the government knows what it is doing and is not "trying the new idea out on the people."

Sherine Bahr, an accountant living in Aswan, joked about the idea. She too was confused and in fact believes that those in historically marginalised Upper Egypt will be left out altogether. She will sell her certificates since their value equals a two- month salary for her -- "a bird in hand".