Are Egypt’s newspapers threatened with extinction?
The Egyptian government launched a plan to reform the state press institutions suffering financial crises, to help them repay their debts.
CAIRO — The Egyptian government’s National Press Authority (NPA) is implementing a reform and restructuring plan for national press institutions to pay back their debts accumulated over the years.
According to an article published by Youm7 on April 25, 2018, the plan includes exploiting the unutilized assets of these institutions, such as the rental of vacant buildings, reducing the costs of newspaper issues and increasing revenues from advertising. The aim is to close the funding gap of these institutions.
On March 5, Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly discussed the plans for the development of government-affiliated press institutions, as well as their dues to government agencies with the ministers, including Minister of Social Solidarity Ghada Wali, Minister of Planning Hala al-Saeed, Minister of Finance Mohammed Moeit, Minister of Business Sector Hisham Tawfik and the head of the National Press Organization, Karam Gaber.
On the same day, Madbouly issued a statement noting that these institutions owe a lot of money to the state’s taxing authority and the social security authority. He called on those in charge of these institutions to show a willingness to improve since the state has provided them with significant financial support.
