President El Sessi Economic Achiements

The election of a new head of state is always scrutinized and somewhat criticized by lay people.

Less than two years ago  (7/12/2014) president El Sessi was elected by more than 24 million Egyptians who constitute half of the eligible voters.

Following the president’s election, negative campaigns by some journalists and politicians started to emerge. They maintained that the new regimes was authoritarian and had no economic planning.

In my opinion this is a misplaced criticism. The president and his government are facing tremendous challenges: terrorism, lack of foreign currency, decreases of tourism by   80%, meager economic economic resources, and above all the continuous population increase.

If we examine the transitional political and economic period following any revolution one notices that political and economic stability is not achieved instantly.

President El Sessi has been in power for less than two full years, and in spite of the poor economic situation he inherited from the previous regime and the continuous threat of terrorism, his achievement is quite impressive.

The followings are an enumeration of his achievements.

1.   The development of the Suez Canal, which took one year to complete at a cost of 60billion Egyptian pounds.

2.   The construction of more than 5000 Km of new roads.

3.    The construction of 1500 bridges. This new transportation network connects the various governorates.

4.   The construction of 6 new towns to allow urban expansion, economic development and to accommodate the increasing number of the population. It is estimates that 2.6 million people, per year, are added to the Egyptian population.

5.   The modernization of the electrical power generators. A German company builds the new generators and it led to the doubling of power. It exceeds 26,000-mega watt.

6.    The construction of 600,000 housing units to accommodate low-income families.

7.   The construction of new sewage pipes, with recycling stations, in several villages. This will provide clean water for irrigation and make available 3.7-7 billion cubic meter of water per year.

8.   The reclamation of 1.5 million feddans in Al Farafra. It is a large agricultural project, which is expected to be completed in 4 to 5 years at a cost of 60 bullion Egyptian pounds. According to agricultural economists the project Egypt will be self sufficient in food production, especially the production of wheat. On 5/5/2016, president El Sessi visited Al Farafra to celebrate the hisad of wheat from 5000 reclaimed feddans. Furthermore, villages are constructed with basic infrastructure for those who will be working the land, and wells were dug to provide water for agriculture and human consumption. It is estimated that the water well will provide 7 billion cubic meters of water per year.

9.   Electrical power in this region will be provided by means of solar energy.

The above are among the major economic developmental projects president El Sessi has initiated with the help of the Egyptian army.

This is an impressive achievement in light of the short time he has been in power and considering Egypt poor economic resources.

On May 9, 2016 the Egyptian newspaper Akhbar el Yom published the result of a national opinion survey regarding president El Sessi after being in power for 22 months. It revealed that 79% of the respondents are supportive and satisfied with the president performance and 13% are not satisfied.  However, 69% of the respondents said they will re-elect El Sessi for another term.