What does military budget have anything to do with their control over economy? Military budget for weapons is estimated to be between $4-6 billion before Saudi Arabia gave them 3$ cap space for military spending
No, that's not for weapons. The largest estimate for the entire Egyptian Armed Force's budget is 12 Billion dollars, that includes procurement, maintenance, wages, and anything else a normal military does. The civilian factories, as well as supplying the military with its needs (rations, monitors, any other civvy stuff) sells to the Egyptian public at below market prices, the gained revenue is then put back into the budget. So, where does the money go? if the military did control 40% of Egypt's economy the military's budget would be way over 1-2% of GDP.
If you can show me sources which mentions non-fuel subsidies during Morsi's term or even if was going to cut them please do so.
Part of the $4.8B IMF loan he was going for (and if I'm not mistaken the current government may be going for as well).
In order to arrest the slide towards complete economic collapse, Morsi needed to obtain loans and sources of investment as a matter of urgency. His first port of call was the IMF, who'd been in the process of negotiating a $3.2billion loan request from the previous regime before it was swept from power in 2011.
Morsi wanted this loan increased to $4.8billion. However the IMF predicated the granting of any such loan on spending cuts, specifically cuts
to the food and fuel subsidies to the poor, which still account for 3% of Egypt's GDP. In addition Egypt's massive state sector - which absorbs a further 40% of GDP - was also in the sights of the IMF, an institution whose neoliberal nostrums have wrought havoc throughout the Global South since the 1970s, eloquently documented by Canadian journalist
Naomi Klein in her peerless work -
The Shock Doctrine.
The Role of the IMF In Morsi's Downfall | John Wight
Talk to any economist you want, Egypt needs to cut its subsidies on fuel and anything else if it wants to cut the governments deficit and rejuvenate the economy, spending seven times more on fuel than on healthcare just isn't
sustainable.
Executing what? The most recent news is plan will be presented in 2015 (Finished in 3 years)according to DailyNewsEgypt. And that is to just build a waterway alongside the current one. Correct me if I'm wrong.
You're wrong: digging started about ten days ago
The ceremony
و رئيس اللجنة الهندسية لمشروع حفر المجرى الموازى لقناة السويس الجديدة ، أن حجم الأعمال التى تم تنفيذها حتى الآن بلغ ( 9 ) ملايين متر مكعب.
و أضاف أن معدلات الحفر شهدت انخفاضاً طفيفاً عن حجم الأعمال المستهدفة يوميًا برفع نحو ( 1.4 ) مليون متر مكعب من الرمال لعدم وصول معدات قادمة تابعة لشركات من محافظات الصعيد.
وأضاف أنه بدءً من يوم غد السبت سيبدأ العمل بالطاقة الكاملة للشركات العاملة.
و قال سيادته أن الهيئة الهندسية للقوات المسلحة استوردت ( 75 ) معدة جديدة للمشاركة فى المشروع و أنه من المنتظر نقلها من ميناء الإسكندرية إلى موقع الحفر خلال أيام.
So far 9 Million cubic meters of sand has been dug, the plan is to complete this within the year, that means more companies have been brought in to dig rising from 20 companies to 33 and they intend to add more. The rest of the project should be completed within 3 years.
And that's supposed to get revenue from $5 billion to 13$ billion by 2023? Morsi's plan was going to triple revenue by 2017.
He said and what was realistic are two different things, the doubling of ships moving through the Canal daily from 50 to 100 ships will double the revenue, and that project is to take a year. The building of logistical bases and companies on and in and around the canal will take 3 years their projected numbers have not been released.
And there is no 'would have' here. It was going to be completed by 2017 under the last administration. The first phase which had development of the land in the area. I believe the previous adminstrations plan was more than that what Sisi is currently implementing.
A 3-5 year project (if not longer) was going to be completed by 2017 yet by the 30th of June 2013 not a single brick was moved, nor a single cubic meter dug, nor any competition for tender initiated, no any workers hired. Yeah sure. You may believe what Morsi was doing was larger, but in reality digging a new 74km canal and expanding the other canal, plus making the Suez canal a logistical hub is the bigger project, Morsi only envisaged the logistical hub.
And the current administration is still trying to secure funding from investment banks. Initial costs of infrastrucutre is estimated to be at least $20 billion, not sure they have that yet. The housing projects were funded by the UAE if I'm correct. How many billions? So it is foreign funded, you seemed to have a problem earlier if Morsi raised money from foreign sources for the Suez canal project. Your own sources also say UAE 'DP' is investing in it.
The canal itself will be fully Egyptian funded, not sure about the logistical hub, where did you get the $20B number from?
In a speech to the nation on Tuesday, Sisi said the project would receive no financing from abroad, and that he hoped its $4bn (£2.4bn) cost would instead be offset by independent contributions from individual Egyptians. "We want all Egyptians to hold shares in this project," he said.
I have no problem with foreign funded projects in Egypt, no one does, what I have a problem with (as do all other Egyptians) is allowing foreign investors to control a vital part of Egypt that men and women have died for, the Suez Canal. It must be maintained an Egyptian controlled canal.
Which is the same thing Morsi was doing but with Qatar to develop the land along the canal, and you guys expressed so much outrage over that. But, nothing this time because it's Sisi and the UAE.
No, it's because under the proposed plans investors would effectively be able to lease the Suez Canal, no Egyptian control, 1956 is not so easily forgotten.
