Egyptian President Abdulfattah el-Sisi hinted at government intentions to take on new austerity measures, saying that “an annual bonus will not be paid to state employees this year.”
State employees in Egypt receive a raise at the end of every fiscal year, which runs from July to June.
In a session of the forum titled 'How to Build Future Leaders,' Sisi spoke about efforts to develop the country's education system.
Speaking at a seminar held on the second day of the World Youth Forum, Sisi said the country needs to provide 250,000 classrooms at a cost of EGP 130 billion ($7.3 billion) to keep up with the annual increase in the number of students attending public schools.
"The current state of the education system requires us to build 250,000 new classrooms at a value of EGP 130 billion," he said, adding that funding is needed to overcome this major challenge.
Sisi stressed that all ministries will suffer from austerity in order to move the country forward.
“That’s a big challenge,” Sisi said. “Tell me what to do. How do I solve this?”
The government needs to find a solution he said, adding: “I’m going to say something difficult. Make cuts in all the ministries. I’m going to say something even more difficult. We’re not going to give raises this year to employees in Egypt.”
Since he came to power in 2014, Sisi has been carrying out a series of measures under the banner of national economic reform. It is worth noting that two years ago the government took the decision to float the national currency in November 2016, after which prices took an unprecedented hike.
"Change by force (means) opening the gates of hell. There was a phase in Egypt when all we cared about was returning to the situation we had before January 25, 2011,” Sisi said.
Sisi also warned that Egypt was a “candidate for national suicide”, noting that efforts during the past five years to restore stability and peace to the Egyptian state were unprecedented.
