(Xinhua) -- The Egyptian government decided on Wednesday to raise the social insurance pension from current 150 Egyptian pounds (about 25 U.S. dollars) to 200 Egyptian pounds ( about 33 dollars) to improve the living standards of the needy.
| "O mighty Effendi, the peasants are still revolting!" |
| "Yes, they stink on ice." |
"Whatever will we do, Effendi?!"
"We'll give them more money, Mahmoud -- that always works. After all, we still have three or four months of foreign exchange funds in the treasury, which should give us enough time to pack up everything of value and flee the premises. Go, Mahmoud! Go swiftly! I shall prepare the announcement!" |
Prime Minister Kamal el-Ganzouri told reporters that the government also decided to provide 150 million Egyptian pounds (25 million dollars) to finish construction of 76,000 housing units for low income citizens.
About 1.26 million families will benefit from the social insurance pension policy.
The Egyptian government decided to earmark 200 million Egyptian pounds (33 million dollars) to fund small projects in order to create more jobs, Ganzouri said, adding that the government also approved a bill to amend laws on investment.
Since it took office on Dec. 7, Ganzouri's government has been working hard to restore security and revive the economy.
Over the past few months, foreign investments worth nine billion U.S. dollars have been withdrawn from Egypt which received only one billion dollars of foreign assistance since the turmoil broke out on Jan. 25. |