Government did not inform parliament of upcoming increases in fuel prices: Hegazy
The deputy of the Energy Committee in the House of Representatives, El Sayed Hegazy said that the government assured the Committee that there is no trend to raise fuel prices during the current period,with only the increase during the current fiscal year and past.
The commissioner added that fuel prices may be raised before the end of the current fiscal year as part of the economic reforms undertaken by Egypt to obtain a loan of $12bn from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), while in the Q2 and Q3 of the current fiscal year there is no trend to increase.
However, the Member of the Parliament (MP) Talaat Khalil, a member of the plan and budget committee, said that there is a trend of new increases in fuel prices during the current year and the government is hiding this for citizens.
He added that the government aims to have a complete liberalization of fuel prices by the end of the current fiscal year in conjunction with an IMF loan of $12bn.
Khalil intends to re-submit an interview against the government of the current Prime Minister Sherif Ismail to raise confidence in the House of Representatives because of the rapid economic decisions taken during the past period, which led to high prices have severely affected the Egyptian citizen and raised the proportion of the poor to more than 27%.
The Egyptian Cabinet approved an increase in the prices of petroleum products and natural gas, raising the price of Gasoline 80 from EGP 2.35 to EGP 3.65 per litre representing a rise of 55.3%,and the price of Gasoline 92 from EGP 3.5 to EGP 5 per litre, which represents a rise of 42.9 %.
It also raised the price of diesel fuel from EGP 2.35 to EGP 3.65,representing a rise of 55.3%, and raising the price of the LPG to double the price of EGP 15 to EGP 30 per cylinder.
This is the second time the Egyptian government has raised fuel prices since the liberalization of the pound exchange rate last November.
The Ministry of Petroleum announced in November last year raising the price of Gasoline 80 to 2.35 pounds per litre from EGP 1.60 and the price of Gasoline 92 to EGP 3.50 per litre from EGP 2.60.