The House of Representatives’ Planning and Budget Committee is scheduled to begin discussing the FY2017-18 state budget mid-next week. Finance Minister Amr El Garhy and Planning Minister Hala El Said will brief the MPs on the budget bill, committee chairman Yasser Omar said, according to Al Borsa. Omar says the committee was expecting to begin its discussions this week, but has yet to receive the draft budget and is still discussing the final accounts for the current fiscal year. El Garhy assured President Abdel Fattah El Sisi on Tuesday that the government’s fiscal reforms will not affect social welfare program instead will see a 30% rise in spending on food subsidies and a 50% increase in total spending on social welfare programs, according to a statement from Ittihadiya.

This comes as more details of the budget are emerging,including a report that the government anticipates tax revenues from the oil and gas sector to rise 37.7% to EGP 44 bn, an official from the EGPC tells Al Shorouk. The source attributes this to rising fuel prices, new investments expected to reach USD 10 bn this year, and impact of devaluation.