Thursday 03 Apr
In its meeting today, Wednesday, under the chairmanship of Dr. Moustafa Madbouly, the Cabinet approved the draft budget for the fiscal year 2025/2026 and resolved to submit it to the House of Representatives.
During the meeting, Minister of Finance Ahmed Kouchouk reviewed the main features of the new draft budget, noting that revenues are estimated at approximately EGP 3.1 trillion, with an annual growth rate of 19%. Expenditures are estimated at EGP 4.6 trillion, an increase of 18%. He also highlighted the goal of achieving a primary surplus of EGP 795 billion, representing 4% of GDP, and reducing the debt of the general budget agencies to 82.9%.
Kouchouk emphasized the implementation of presidential directives to
increase spending on health, education, social protection, and productive and export
sectors. He stated that the
constitutional spending requirements for education, health, and scientific
research has been met. Additionally,
679.1 billion pounds have been allocated to the wages of state workers, with an
annual growth of 18.1%, to accommodate scheduled raises effective July 1st.
He detailed specific allocations within the health sector,
including: EGP 22 billion for medicines, EGP 12.4 billion for raw materials,
EGP 11 billion for medical supplies, EGP 2.8 billion for medical equipment
maintenance, EGP 5 billion for therapeutic medicines and baby formula, EGP 15.1
billion for state-funded treatment for uninsured low-income citizens, and EGP
5.9 billion for health insurance covering students, women breadwinners,
children, and comprehensive healthcare.
Kouchouk highlighted the allocation of EGP 732.6 billion for
support, grants, and social benefits, representing a 15.2% increase aimed at
alleviating the burden on citizens, particularly vulnerable groups. This
includes EGP 160 billion for food commodities and bread support, a 20% annual
rise. He also noted a 35% increase in the "Takaful and Karama" social
security pension, reaching EGP 54 billion, to accommodate the 25% increase in
monthly cash support starting in April. Additionally, EGP 75 billion has been
allocated for petroleum product support, another EGP 75 billion for electricity
support, and EGP 3.5 billion for natural gas home delivery support.
The minister confirmed an increase in the allocations for the state
treasury’s contribution to pension funds to reach 227.1 billion pounds. He
noted that 5.2 billion pounds were allocated to support the railway, 1.8
billion pounds for student subscriptions for trains and the metro, and 2.5
billion pounds to support passenger transportation in Cairo and Alexandria.
Kouchouk clarified that EGP 78.1 billion has been allocated to support productive, export and tourism activities, boost growth and enhance confidence in the Egyptian economy, which represents a three-fold increase compared to previous years. He noted that EGP 8.3 billion has been allocated to the initiative to support the tourism sector, EGP 5 billion to priority industrial activities, EGP 3 billion to the initiative to convert vehicles to operate on natural gas, EGP 3 to 5 billion in cash incentives for medium, small and micro enterprises, and EGP 1 billion to the initiative to provide natural gas-powered taxis and quarter-ton trucks and offer them to young people.
