|
BALANCING ECONOMIC GROWTH AND SOCIAL WELFARE
The Egyptian melting pot: President Mubarak with Sheikh Al Alazhar, the Moslem Imam; Anba Schuda, the Egyptian Pope; and Dr. Esmat Abdelmagid, leader of the Arab League.
|
Rapid change in a developing country of over 60 million people holds the inherent danger of social unrest. Numerous fledgling democracies and liberalizing economies have foundered under the weight of pressure from internal elements resistant to change or who feel they are not gaining their share of an expanding national income.
Over the years the Egyptian government has shown itself to be alert to the perils of rapid growth and has designed its development program with social cohesion as a priority.
As President Mubarak put it recently: "One of the distinguishing features of the Egyptian experience has been that social development has proceeded side by side with development and economic reform. Thus, it has been a two-sided reform that both maintains the stability of society and protects it from any disturbance or unrest."
On the whole, Egypt has fared better than many international observers had expected in this respect, and has been successful in overcoming the terrorist threat. Perhaps the clearest indication of this is that tourists are voting with their feet and coming to Egypt in droves again. This is good news, in economic as well as social terms, as tourism is the country's biggest foreign-exchange earner and provides numerous jobs for Egyptians.
The government's policy of developing major infrastructure projects in previously economically under-developed areas such as Toshka and Owaynat, is also aimed at ensuring that the fruits of economic growth are shared more equally.
Various programs have been set up for underprivileged minorities, including the mentally and physically disabled. One of these, the Integrated Care Society, is chaired by the President's wife, Suzanne Mubarak, a well-respected figure on the international stage for her work in women's rights and social equality.
In all, the government estimates it has spent some 49 billion Egyptian pounds on social development covering education, health, culture, information, justice and security.
"This huge volume... asserts the continuity of the state's responsibility for the welfare of the low-income and least priveleged categories," says President Mubarak, adding that it also reflects a government ethos which, "considers man as the target and focus of development."
President Mubarak has also actively supported closer relations between Egypt's different religious groups and, in particular, with the 7-million strong Coptic Christian community. The president has taken a key role in chairing meetings to enable closer cooperation and better understanding.
Although government has predominately been made up of Moslems, Christian politicians are now making inroads; Economy Minister Yousef Boutros-Ghali and Minister of Environment Nadia Ebied are both Coptic Christians, for example.
As Egypt enters a new millennium, it can look back on almost two decades which have seen the country take giant strides towards greater social cohesion and the active participation of greater numbers of the population in the active life of the nation.
|
