Egypt has already begun lobbying members of the International Monetary Fund’s executive board to ensure that voting on the USD 12 bn, three-year extended fund facility goes smoothly, an anonymous government source told Al Shorouk. The source expects the vote to be held before the end of August end and for Egypt to receive the first tranche of the funding within six-to-eight weeks. The government is also working on securing funding from the African Development Bank, the World Bank, and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries around the same to ensure that Egypt has the firepower it needs to tackle the parallel market — something the source describes as being at the top of the government’s reform agenda. Tempering expectations of wide-ranging economic reforms, the source says the government received “security recommendations” against hiking commodity prices, warning of potential social discontent. “It is the same advice we have been receiving since decades,” the source says.