Parliament becomes after school at the mall; EFSA publishes measures against brokers in the Official Gazette
Last night’s talks shows nearly put us to sleep until Kol Youm’s Amr Adib started ranting about the rumble in the jungle that is the House of Representatives fight over the National Elections Act, where MPs got into a fist fight. MP Mahmoud Mohie El-Din phoned in to blamed the fight on House Speaker Ali Abdel Aal’s attempt to split votes between the majority coalitions and the opposition in a bid to rescue the bill (watch, runtime 5:44). The squabble had been over the role the judiciary will hold in running the new regulator set up by the law to govern national elections. .In the end, MPs gave a preliminary nod to the law, Al Shorouk reports. Adib (along with probably everyone else tuning in) was clearly just waiting for the juicy details on the fight, of which we could not find a video by dispatch time. Look to our Worth Watching section this week — we’ll have it when it (inevitably) leaks.
Adib also showcased a report on the “recession” hitting shopping stalls and food markets in Cairo (watch, runtime 3:50). Showing off his economic chops,Adib said the economy will not improve if prices drop — what’s really needed is an increase in incomes (watch, runtime 2:49).
Over on Masaa’ DMC, Eman El Hossary hosted Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority head Sherif Samy for a chat about what happens to brokers who violate securities regulations (watch, runtime 2:00). Bad things, apparently, including suspensions of licenses for three months while EFSA investigates and publication of alleged ne’er-do-wells’ names in the Official Gazette. (Al Masry Al Youm has more on the story).
Al Hayah Al Youm’s Lobna Assal aired a report on Supply Minister Ali El Moselhy’s press conference at the “Ahlan Ramadan” Supermarket Expo (watch, runtime 3:20). He noted that private-sector companies will offer food at discounted prices during the holy month. Nothing like a bit of moral suasion to “guide” us all on prices…
Ali Faramawy, Microsoft’s boss for the Middle East and Africa, gave Hona Al Assema’s Lamees El Hadidi the low-down on a digital transformation unit he established within the company that will consult on ways technologies can benefit emerging markets (watch, runtime 25:51).