A government of Hollow Promises and Lack of Vision

*By Yasser AlFakharany

“After standing in a long queue for 3 hours, he could get a butane gas cylinder. Unfortunately, his joy did not last for a long time. The young man directly died. Upon receiving the cylinder, he reportedly suffered from low blood pressure that caused his death. The fatal change in blood pressure was due to the happiness of receiving the cylinder. “This scene is not a just an imaginary scene in a play or a plot in a novel, it is a real incident that already occurred when a young man died after his success in getting a gas cylinder in Egypt. This is the Egyptian reality under SISI`s regime. The regime which promised the Egyptians so many flowery promises is suffering now from several economic crises.

The analysts and economists warn that these crises will blow up a third revolution against the current regime. On top of these crises is the “Hunger Revolution” which I think will be an “Anger Revolution. First crisis that threaten the current regime is a crisis of LPG pipeline, as the market is suffering recently from severe shortage that reached the price of a gas cylinder in some areas up to 100 Egyptian pounds which is  so expensive for millions of poor Egyptians. This crisis is a result of the sharp drop in temperatures leading to an increase in the rate of consumption as many citizens depend on this kind of gas for cooking and heating in the very cold weather that led to snowfall in many governorates all over the country.

As well as the power outages, with interruptions arrived to an unprecedented rate in Egypt, since it has started to use electricity. At the this very critical time in the winter season, the government rather than talking about solutions for these consecutive problems which cause a huge burden on the shoulders of the poor citizens, it came out to talk about resolving the crisis in the summer. In other words, all the people must wait and suffer until the summer time in order for the government to find a solution for this crisis. The power drop will not be less than six hours a day and that the government will provide schedules for the citizens for the times of disruption.

In addition to this, the government will increase in the electricity prices in May as a solution which will be accompanied by a rise in petrol and diesel prices. The problem of high prices is another important crisis the Egyptians are facing at the present time. Despite the decline of food commodity prices in the global markets by about 3.7%, it is experiencing a significant increase in consumer prices in the Egyptian domestic market due to the rise of the dollar against the pound which leads to increase in the cost of the imports and the citizen is the only one that bears this burden. 

 Moreover, the unemployment crisis, as the previous government reports estimated the rate of unemployment at 11.5%, noting that the number of employees in the government sector and public works is up to 5.5 million of the total workforce of around 27 million. This problem will lead many young men abstain marriage or delay it. Delaying marriage for economic reasons will play a crucial role in increasing the rate of spinsterhood which will have its implications on the social status. The late age of marriage has become a social phenomenon rampant in Egypt and increased recently, as the number of young men and women who are over the age of marriage, according to official statistics, are about 10 million young men and women. Statistics also confirmed that 40% of women in Egyptian society suffer from the problem of spinsterhood, which has become a phenomenon growing constantly, especially in light of the deteriorating economic conditions, high prices and widespread of unemployment among young people.

Under Sisi`s regime Alexandria which is the second largest city in Egypt founded in 331 BC by Alexander the Great and is known as “the bride of the Mediterranean sea”, is drowning in waste water. The funny part in this story is the scene in which the people of Alexandria were skiing by using the Jet Ski on the waste water in the streets of Alexandria for the first time in the history of this beautiful city. The inhabitants also for the first time used small boats in order to move from one street to another as if they were in Venice or Thailand. Some others preferred not to wear their trousers fearing of being wet until they cross the mud and waste water which was filling the streets of Alexandria. The city has become a source of satire in the social media platforms.

The wrong economic decisions adopted by the government recently will hasten the third wave of revolution characterized by angry and hungry citizens who were already supporting that government and the military coup hoping to enjoy a better a more welfare life, but they discovered in the course of time that they were deceived and manipulated by that regime to reach its own goals and assume authority in the country.

The regime is trying to beautify its face by making more and more flowery promises not solid solutions to the recurrent crises. Sisi is showing himself as a leader by visiting many countries so as to find more and more donors or lenders. He is also trying to write off the idea of being a leader of the Military coup that killed the newly born democracy in Egypt. The government has also called for an international economic conference which will be held next March. Through this conference the regime is seeking a way out and a solution for the economic problems by investing in the conference to attract as many countries as possible. This conference is considered the last hope for the government to show its ability to get out of the bottleneck which it has put itself inside intentionally.  

Last but not least, the problem of Houthis who are controlling the strait of Bab al-Mandeb on the Red Sea, which represents a direct threat to both the national security and economy to Egypt. Navigation in the Suez Canal is expected to be influenced by this crisis. The Question now did the government  find solutions to all these crises and huge threats or it will continue with its flowery and hollow promises???s?

*Egyptian Writer & Editor