Egypt’s president facing dissent over rising prices
CAIRO — Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi is confronting one of the toughest challenges he has faced since seizing power five years ago, as rising prices linked to economic austerity measures take a toll on his core middle-class supporters.
While the economy is growing and winning applause from Western donors, Sissi’s austerity program is squeezing a broad spectrum of Egyptians and fueling heightened criticism of his rule.
In recent weeks, cost-ofliving increases have triggered public outrage. Steep subsidy cuts have driven up prices for fuel, cooking gas and electricity. The government has also introduced a new value-added tax and floated the currency, which has subsequently lost value. A hike in fees for using the metro sparked street protests.
Thousands of Egyptians have taken to Twitter and other social media demanding that Sissi step down, voicing their frustrations under the hashtag #Sissi-Leave.
Sissi acknowledged in recent televised speeches that the economic reforms are tough on the population, even as he insisted that the country is on the right track.
“The path of real reform is difficult and cruel and causes a lot of suffering,” Sissi said in a June 30 address commemorating the anniversary of the protests that led to his seizure of power in a military coup. “But there is no doubt that the suffering resulting from the lack of reform is much worse.”
In exchange for a $12 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, Sissi agreed in 2016 to put in place a series of austerity measures. These included reducing government subsidies for fuel and other products and services, as well as devaluing the Egyptian pound by more than half in November of that year.
Last week, the IMF praised Egypt’s efforts in a review, projecting that economic growth would reach 5.2 percent this year and 5.5 percent next year.
But that expansion is accompanied by a dramatic rise in prices at a time when poverty and unemployment remain high. For long-suffering Egyptians, such as Nancy Attia, inflation translates into daily frustrations and dreams deferred.
Attia postponed her wedding, not because of illness or last-minute jitters, but due to rising prices. In Egypt, tradition dictates that a couple live together in their own home after marriage, but that arrangement has become increasingly unaffordable.
“Rent, furniture, electronic devices, everything has doubled in price, or even more. Every little step that drove us closer to our beautiful dream became harder and harder,” said Attia, 33, an unemployed journalist. Marriage now seems out of reach. “We can’t even set a date,” she said.