The nation’s airwaves last night were awash in coverage of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s speech yesterday in Badr City as he inaugurated a number of housing developments in the new city.

El Sisi used the occasion to set things straight on the potential rise in the price of subsidized bread, reassuring citizens that there are no plans to remove subsidies on staple goods. Instead there will be a “restructuring” of the EGP 275 bn allocated for subsidies in the state’s budget each year. “I must reorganize the affairs of Egypt in a way that yields tremendous value for its economy and people. The EGP 70 bn allocated from the country’s annual subsidies towards bread should be reconstituted,” El Sisi said.

He also touched on the old rent law, saying there are plans to ease rent protections on pre-1996 leases to ensure the fair treatment of both tenants and landlords, though he did not elaborate. El Sisi said the government would work on increasing the supply of affordable housing in the market in order to create more balance between demand for, and supply of, affordable homes. Among those who had coverage of the president’s speech last night: Al Hayah Al Youm (watch, runtime: 31:34 | 17:11), Ala Mas’ouleety (watch, runtime: 60:22) and Masaa DMC (watch, runtime: 5:24).