By: Ahmed ELNAHAS – Firenze, May 25th 2013.
In the wake of the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty in 1979. U.S. military aid to Egypt totals over $1.3 billion annually. In addition, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) provided over $25 billion in economic and development assistance to Egypt between 1975 and 2002. A shift in assistance from infrastructure, health, food supply, and agriculture toward market-based economic development, good governance, and training programs is reflected in the motto, “From Aid to Trade”.
The Commodity Import Program, through which USAID provides hundreds of millions of dollars in financing to enable the Egyptian private sector to import U.S. goods, remains one of the largest and most popular USAID programs. Since 2003, U.S. assistance is also focusing more on economic reform, education, civil society, and other programs supported by the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI).
From US. Department of State – Democracy In Action
The 2010 Balance sheet (compared to 1980’s) showed a deficit of US$. 13.5bil; an inflation of 17.9%; an unemployment ratio of 28%; a 6% less cultivated surfaces; a 126% increase in prisons occupancy despite a 14% increase of newly constructed facilities; an increase of 72% of private owned schools and 14% universities enjoying annual state financings of US$.1.2Bil against the slim US$. 15Mil annual provisions to finance the overall state owned Public Education & Scientific Research centres (Including the Ministry’s wages); an increase of 126 privately owned Health Care facilities (only in Cairo and Alexandria) against the closing of 34 Public Hospitals in both cities; an average wage increase of 246% for the middle and high ranks in Security and Armed Forces compared to the lean 12% Public Sector’s cadres average wage increment for the same period; an increase of 347% of railways accidents casualties…And the list is long and discouraging.
The figures could be interpreted in any imaginable way.. But they indicate two very important facts:
I. The official incompetence for managing economy and finance. Because the disbursements are showing that the issues placed as priorities reflected only the governing cast’s views. They were never endorsed by a real national acceptance to receive them as the strategic objectives targeting: [a] the consistent growth of a real economy and the general public’s welfare; [b] in support of a better wealth distribution, and [c] to maintain consistent the growth of a middle class financially autonomous.
II. The Corrupt and Criminal use of the funds to create Business Monopolies and Power Centres (lobbies) exercising growing control over the administration decision and policy making nerves.
Of course in 20 years; both facts have seriously damaged the root fundaments of the entire nation’s social, cultural, economic and financial structure.
Today, and to make things worse than they are, the new God Fearing Governing Bodies have adopted the same mismanagement traits, and are stubbornly exhibiting their pathetic performance of the “Elegant Snobbish Mendicant”, in every public and international appearance, as the guiding line for ruling 80 million Egyptians.
Are we damned and doomed to remain dancing on the staircases forever between the floors? Or someday somewhere someone would somehow break that spell?
Pass On The Word.
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