Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, also known as the ‘Coup Leader,’ came to power in 2014 after overthrowing the first democratically elected president, Mohammad Morsi. Since then, President El-Sisi has consistently promised Egyptians better living conditions, urging patience as the country goes through a new phase of reformation. El-Sisi’s empty promises of progress, improved infrastructure, and reformation, which he urged his citizens to support, have worsened Egypt’s failing economy.
Currently, in his third term in power, Egyptians continue suffering from extreme poverty and a high unemployment rate. El-Sisi’s reforms prioritized the construction of a new capital, putting aside the pressing economic, educational, and healthcare challenges. El-Sisi’s ‘mega-projects’ and new capital construction have exacerbated the country’s financial crisis.
Egypt’s economic state has declined significantly since El-Sisi took power in 2014. As of April 2024, one US dollar equals 47 Egyptian pounds, compared to 7 pounds to the dollar when El-Sisi first took power 10 years ago. Egypt’s inflation rate has also increased to 35.70 percent in February, compared to just a month ago in January, when it was at 29.80 percent. The impact of inflation has impacted Egyptians hard, especially the middle class. This can be seen with the increasing food and beverage costs, which represent the largest single component of the inflation basket. Annually, these costs went up by 50.9 percent, with a monthly increase of 16.7 percent.
Furthermore, according to a World Bank report in 2019, “some 60% of Egypt’s population is either poor or vulnerable and inequality is on the rise,” highlighting the significant economic challenges Egyptians are facing under the ambitious leader. El-Sisi has failed to fulfill his promises, instead leading the country’s economy to collapse.
El-Sisi has increased Egypt’s international debt by approximately $163 billion. Additionally, Egypt signed onto three loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under President El-Sisi’s term. This means that Egypt is currently the second-largest IMF borrower, after Argentina. He has spent multibillion dollars on megaprojects, some of which include the $58 billion New Administrative Capital, including a $8.2 billion expansion of the Suez Canal. All this has left Egypt to go through the worst financial catastrophe in the country, exacerbated by food insecurity and economic inequality.
El-Sisi’s government has claimed and expressed the importance of these projects, as they aim to restore the tourism sector in the country. However, this raises the question of whether that money should have been used for education to improve the status of schools in the country, create new job opportunities, and improve public services for the youth in a country with a population of 114,067,488 as of 2024.
He has failed to ensure that his citizens have basic human necessities such as food and electricity. Additionally, he has disregarded priorities by focusing on building skyscrapers, neglecting the fact that these buildings won’t feed his citizens. El-Sisi addressed his citizens at a conference, admitting that the cost of “progress and prosperity” shouldn’t be underestimated, even if it meant suffering starvation and poverty. “If progress, prosperity, and development come at the price of hunger and deprivation,” he told attendees in October 2023, “Egyptians, do not shy away from progress! Don’t dare say: ‘It is better to eat.’” By God”, El-Sisi continued, “if the price of progress and prosperity is that we don’t eat or drink as others do, then we will not eat or drink.”
Prices, particularly for food, have risen dramatically as a result of the rapid economic crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have also exacerbated the country’s hardship. The invasion of Ukraine has particularly affected Egypt as it is one of the largest wheat importers from Russia and Ukraine. Ordinary citizens can no longer afford the cost of wheat, sugar, and meat.
Despite the hardships that his citizens are enduring, President El-Sisi has yet to acknowledge any of these crises. In a video shown on the Middle East Eye where El-Sisi addressed the media and criticized them for covering the economic crisis in the country, he stated, “Why do you portray Egyptians as if they are in a state of panic over food and drink? This is not appropriate.” “I am not saying this is not true, but eating and drinking is not the end of the world,” the president said.
The leader who came to power promising changes and economic prosperity for Egypt has exacerbated the country’s financial crisis. Economic growth requires a turn away from El-Sisi’s massive infrastructure projects towards addressing basic needs such as education, employment, healthcare, and welfare that benefit the citizens and minimize the challenges caused by the ongoing economic crisis. President El-Sisi needs to act and address the poverty surrounding the country.
