BackEgypt PM says stability key to fixing economy
President Mohamed Mursi's government committed to improving economic growth, PM Kandil says
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Cairo: Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Kandil said on Tuesday that political stability was crucial to luring back foreign investors and tourists to help plug a yawning budget deficit and heal the country’s ailing economy.
In a statement hours before the expected announcement of the result of a divisive constitutional referendum, Kandil said President Mohamed Mursi’s government was committed to taking steps to improve economic growth.
“The main goals that the government is working towards now is plugging the budget deficit, and working on increasing growth to boost employment rates, curb inflation, and increase the competitiveness of Egyptian exports," Kandil said in a statement.
Egypt’s budget deficit surged to 11% of gross domestic product in the financial year that ended in June 2012 and is forecast to exceed 10% this year, adding to a public debt burden of 70% of national output that is already very high for a developing economy.
The country has been gripped by political rivalries and sometimes deadly protests over the vote on a new constitution that Mursi’s Islamist backers say is crucial to democratic transition, but which opponents say has failed to guarantee personal freedom and the rights of women and minorities.
Standard and Poor’s cut the government’s credit rating on Monday and officials confirmed on Tuesday that travellers had been banned from carrying more than $10,000 in foreign currency cash in or out of the country on worries over pressure on the pound and a rush by Egyptians to withdraw savings from banks.
Kandil said that despite political tensions, the pound had not moved more than 1% against the dollar in the past two weeks. Figures show that the central bank has spent more than half its foreign exchange reserves since 2011 in defending the currency, which is pegged to the dollar.
“The fluctuations in the exchange rate remain at normal levels given the political conditions and turmoil the country is experiencing and its negative repercussions on the economic situation," Kandil said.
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