Minister of Social Solidarity Ghada Waly told Masaa DMC’s Ramy Radwan that she predicted an increase in the poverty rates in Egypt as a result of the recent economic reforms pushed by the International Monetary Fund’s program. “It was predicted that the poverty rates in Egypt would increase, particularly after the 2007-2008 financial crisis, the fuel crisis and the food crisis, which all occurred before the 2011 uprising. All of these crises resulted in the slowing down of economic growth at a global level, which negatively impacted Egypt,” she noted. Minister Ghada Waly added that with the devaluation of the Egyptian pound, cutting fuel subsidies, and the increase in prices, it was inevitable that such measures would increase the poverty rate. Egypt’s Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) released a report revealing that 32.5 percent of Egyptian citizens are living below the poverty line, a 4.7 percent increase from 2015, when 27.8 percent were living below the poverty line. Chairperson of CAPMAS Khairat Barakat stated that this increase is a reminder that some segments of Egyptian society have had to bear the burdens of the recent economic reforms…
Egypt’s Economic Reforms Increased Poverty Rates, Social Solidarity Minister Admits
October 24, 2019
