Dr. Hossam Badrawi Official Website
Young people gathered around me and asked for my view on the growth of the Egyptian economy based on my political experience.
The promising young man said: What is the most important measure to take place in the Egyptian economy?
I said: Making a structural change in the Egyptian economy with the aim of stimulating growth, its sustainability and its balance while creating employment opportunities, is the greatest concern due to any government. Human development cannot reach its goals without paralleling with its programs economic programs that increase wealth and open areas of work for citizens. .
The young woman, who studies at the Faculty of Economics, said: How can balance be achieved?
I said: Achieving balanced and sustainable growth associated with increased employment opportunities must be accompanied by giving some priority to the disadvantaged groups of the population without affecting the balance of the state budget, in order to accelerate the achievement of an economic rate of 7% to 8% on average annually for fifteen consecutive years. This is something that can only be achieved by sustaining policies, convincing the people of them, and respecting their philosophy, without retreating or deviating from them with a short-term political public goal.
The balanced growth of the economy in this way and this ratio on the other hand cannot be achieved either, without the completion and expansion of the infrastructure and public utilities so that they can accommodate this growth, especially roads, transportation, ports and airports, justice in a firm application of the law, and above all the development of the human being capable of Carrying the burden and opportunity for development and outside of an effective educational system that serves this development..
She said: So, you support the state’s path in building infrastructure, despite the criticism directed at the government for its extravagance.
I said: Yes, I support the trend, because the extent of the infrastructure and facilities and the efficiency of their operation, it is not possible to absorb economic growth that achieves the necessary development.
Another young man said: What are the sectors that should lead development, Doctor?
I said: From my studies in the National Competitiveness Council, my readings of human development reports and my political work, the sectors that should lead the development paths must be a mixture of traditional and modern activities, some of which produce globally tradable services, and others that produce local goods and services. Locomotives capable of creating job opportunities from my point of view are:
First: Information and communications technology and associated service exports.
The second is labor and skills-intensive industrial exports.
Third: unconventional agricultural manufacturing and horticultural crops.
Fourth: Tourism with all its logistical, hotel and cultural activities.
Fifth: the small and medium business sector in general.
Finally, housing and construction, which accommodates about one hundred professions, is linked to a wide employment and a great economic and social return.
The student in economics said: What is the role of the state in this?
I said: It is important to reduce the state’s control over the economy, and not to interfere directly as a competitor in the markets, but rather to maximize its value as a regulator and sponsor of justice and equal opportunities, an issue that needs to be emphasized. Although the private sector currently absorbs 70% of employment, and is actually responsible for more than that of the national income, I still see the desire of some to return to direct state intervention in the ownership of production sectors instead of investing in infrastructure, and sectors that stimulate development such as education, Health, public transportation, roads, sanitation and other services that the private sector may not have the initiative to invest in at the beginning of the development movement, which is what the state is doing now, and I welcome and support it. As for the ownership and management of companies and factories under the pretext of maintaining a lower-priced product, it is an illusion that we have tried and experienced not only in Egypt, but in many countries that have historically taken this approach. Experience has proven the failure of governments, even if it appears otherwise in the short term, in managing investment in the name of the people. Our experiences and the experiences of others have led to the loss of all the people as a result of the continuation of distributing fake profits to workers and employees… It is as if we support a class of society at the expense of the whole community to prove The theory succeeds regardless of the results.
The young man who started the dialogue said: I mean, the state facilitates any orientations from your point of view.
I said: There are three directions, the state should seriously facilitate their growth. Export, attract foreign investment, and localize digital technology.
Another young woman said: Why do you want foreign investments and we allow an economic occupation of our capabilities? Aren’t local and Arab investments enough for us?
I said: Attracting foreign investments is vital to increase growth rates, achieve development and economic progress that we seek and create employment opportunities, because our capabilities for local investment will not be able to create the number of job opportunities that the country needs…
She said: Is the government doing enough to attract foreign investment?
I said: The truth is that the Egyptian government has already taken good steps and issued many legislations over the past years to improve the investment climate.
But my issue is that sometimes we talk to ourselves and blame others for not understanding us instead of speaking their language.
It is not enough to say that we have accomplished, without measuring indicators to achieve the goals. The goal here is clear, which is to increase the rates of foreign and Egyptian investment to create job opportunities. Our goal should be to create one million new jobs annually in the next decade, and from the goal stems the investment target, which should reach more than fifty billion dollars annually.!
The competition for the global investment cake requires raising our competitiveness so that the institutions willing to invest, choose Egypt, instead of other countries. There is no way to absorb unemployment and new graduates without attracting this investment.
In order to compete, we must achieve a well-known and clear competitive equation, which is to deal with investors to achieve the highest production rate in the shortest time with the highest quality, in the right time, to achieve profits and pay taxes within a specific and known framework today and tomorrow that does not change between day and night.
The young man said again: What do you suggest, Doctor?
I said: My reading of international reports and my
Directly in investing in Egypt says that to increase the attraction of foreign investments in general, we must:
1- Getting rid of the slowness of dispute resolution procedures, as it may take about three to five years to resolve a case. Slow or selective justice is unfairness, in addition to the fact that some companies find it difficult to collect their financial dues from the government when awarding a cash settlement.
2- To implement the new bankruptcy law, which was recently issued to allow a safe and just exit from the market, as the procedures and papers required are still complicated and lengthy. It is much easier to start an activity than to finish it.
3- Dealing with excessive bureaucracy and the complexity and multiplicity of regulatory agencies and the overlapping of their roles. The disagreements of state institutions with each other may be a reason for the flight of investors, who fall on their shoulders as a result of that dispute.
4- Confronting the causes of corruption that constitute an obstacle to foreign direct investment. Most companies suffer from requests for bribes to facilitate obtaining required government approvals or licenses, as well as tampering with official documents. The suffering of a dual system of payment for services is great and cannot be justified for stockholders…
5- Facing the fact that workers’ skills do not match the requirements of the labor market.
6- Reliance on documents and invoices and facing the slow and complexity of customs procedures and the multiplicity of non-customs obstacles.
7- Providing adequate protection for intellectual property rights.
8- Working on making transparency a real starting point for managing the country, allowing documented information to be available, which, if you knew, would have become difficult.
My children, its sustainability of tax and customs laws and rules, and respect for making profits and employment are among the things that bring wealth to the country and allow the Egyptian market to recover and move it to a new level that we seek.
