Heikal: Soaring Domestic Debt 21% Narrows Egyptian Economy Growth

Ahmed Heikal, Citadel Capital Founder and Chairman, said increasing the volume of the domestic debt is a danger that the Egyptian economy faces, whereas its volume reached 16% in return for 10% before the revolution, about 21% of total the budget.
Heikal, in his keynote speech, during the eighth annual conference of the Egyptian National Competitiveness Council (ENCC), expected that the domestic debt would reach 30% of the total budget, by reason of the government is heading to borrowing and raising the interest rate.
He referred that the government’s response to the categorical demands by raising salaries and the employers in the State Administrative Agency led to increasing the budget deficit, furthermore, setting restrictions on maximum wage limit made many competent persons prefer working abroad.
Ahmed Heikal referred to the significance of transforming to cash support instead of kind support to be delivered to those who deserve it, and the state should work on resolving the subsidiary problem which had started since 2001 via importing power, its importing value is more than EGP1 billion.
He also defended the former minister of industry, Rashid Mohamed Rashid, and the former minister of finance, Boutres Ghaly; elucidating that he belongs to the revolution, but both ministers had great efforts in setting new policies serve the economy, plus the former minister Ahmed Al Maghraby, and indulging the private sector in the youth housing projects. He said the revolution should make us suspend these projects.