* Dr. Ehab ElKharrat is the first vice-president of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party (ESDP), and a representative of the Civil Democratic Movement

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Based on the analysis of the current situation of the social protection programs, I would like to present 5 pointed recommendations:

First, we must acknowledge the Karama (Dignity) and Takful (Solidarity) programs, which led to the monthly stipends increasing from LE 500 (Egyptian Pounds) in 2022, to LE 625 in 2023. However, what ought to be done is to set the monthly stipends, and the minimum wages,  on the basis of the actual purchasing power (of the Egyptian pound). Last year, LE 500 were sufficient – for example- to purchase 3 Fuul Sandwiches a day, a kilograms of potatoes and a kilogram of Tilapia Fish per week. Now, and despite the increase of the stipend, LE 625 can only get a single Fuul sandwich per day, half a kilogram of potatoes and only a quarter kilogram of fish each week

?This begs the question: are the social subsides actually reaching their deserving beneficiaries

There are, in fact, many questions with regards to the spread of corruption and nepotism at local governance levels. Such a situation cannot be rectified unless if we carry out a transparent and democratic reform of these levels of governance, as democracy here will necessarily lead to a more efficient social protection system.

Second, I must also acknowledge another respectable and great project, which is Hayah Karima (or Dignified life in English). Many large investments were pumped into this project, and a significant lot of infrastructure has been completed. In fact, we need more school buildings and more hospitals, and technology centers (that provide citizens access to a various essential governmental services in their neighborhoods). However, when a teacher only receives LE 4000 a month, after a decade of service, how are we going to really benefit from these school buildings

Teachers and doctors need social protection right now! We must reallocate part of what is being spent on Hayah Karima to developing the human resources and workforce needs, either in terms of training or (appropriate) wages. We can’t deny the need for the actual buildings, but we also need much more support to the human aspect

Thirdly, concerning unemployment benefits, I suggest that they would tied to a local employment bureau or job office that would look for local job vacancies and offer them to the applicant. If they would refuse to take any of these opportunities, they would lose access to these benefits. On the other hand, if we were not able to find job opportunities to the applicant, they would continue to receive unemployment benefits

I would like to take this opportunity to ask the Trustee Council (of the National Dialogue) to continue demanding, with us, the release of all those who were arrested on charges of ‘Opinion Lawsuits’ as pledged earlier by the sponsoring entities of the National Dialogue, and reassuring what the President of Egypt has committed to to provide the necessary environment to conduct the National Dialogue.

Moving on to the fourth recommendation: Seventy percent (70%) of the Egyptian workforce works in the ‘informal’ sector. Hence we demand that the social protection umbrella extends to them too

Finally, the fifth recommendation would be to tie education (particularly technical education) to the needs of the local job market. When the student receives the needed practical experience, they will become a skilled worker and be able to pull themselves out of poverty. Social protection is part of Social justice, and social justice is part of the economy. These demands still remain in the hearts and minds of Egyptians: Freedom, Bread, and Social Justice