Questions surround Egypt's plan to scrap subsidies for cash transfers
Egyptian officials hope direct cash payments to the poor will be more efficient than current subsidies, but an economist wonders whether the nation has the necessary database for such a project to work.
The Egyptian government is planning to roll out an ambitious plan to replace subsidies with direct cash payments in an attempt to eliminate graft and give subsidies only to those who deserve them.
Two weeks ago, Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said the government “is moving in the direction of replacing subsidies with cash transfers in the coming period.” Economists say that the move — if implemented — would help fix a broken-down system for the delivery of subsidies, which has incurred huge losses for the government.
Economist Ahmed Koura said that the cash-transfer scheme would benefit millions of poor Egyptians and help fight corruption. “It will be a game-changer for poor people. There will be no leakage. The beneficiary will not have to pay any kind of money to get his benefit,” he told Al-Monitor.
Koura added that the cash-transfer scheme would also save the government billions of dollars by eliminating fake beneficiaries and middlemen.
