EXCLUSIVE- Gov’t to increase spending on health, education and financial inclusion next fiscal year: The draft FY2019-20 state budget is increasing the government’s allocations for education and health and should meet the constitutionally mandated 10% of GDP spending requirement for these sectors, a government source told Enterprise. The budget for education will grow by EGP 8 bn to EGP 69.6 bn, while spending on healthcare will increase to EGP 122.5 bn from EGP 115.6 bn, the source said. The figures do not include investment, which the government expects to reach EGP 211 bn, up from EGP 170 bn this fiscal year. The budget also allocated EGP 10 bn to health insurance and treatment costs, up from EGP 1 bn this year. Separately, the Madbouly government is also planning to spend EGP 3 bn on housing loans and EGP 3.5 bn on linking 1 mn homes to the natural gas grid, the source said. The communications sector should also see a 127% increase in spending next year as part of the government’s focus on financial inclusion, sources from the Communications Ministry told Amwal Al Ghad.

The House of Representatives is currently reviewing the budget, which is expected to increase state spending by 12% y-o-y to EGP 1.57 tn. The House needs to complete its budget review and give its stamp of approval by the end of June.