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Tuesday, 6 September 2022

The National Dialogue, economic crisis, and New Alamein’s exemption from power rationing got attention on the airwaves

The Sisi administration’s national dialogue dominated the conversation on the airwaves last night after the board of trustees yesterday appointed several rapporteurs for the process (more on this in this morning’s Also on our Radar, below). Nothing particularly interesting was said, but if you’ve run out of things to kill time: Al Hayah Al Youm (watch, runtime: 19:16), Kelma Akhira (watch, runtime: 3:45), and Al Hayah Al Youm (watch, runtime: 4:21).

The economic crisis and the future of the EGP got a selective mention: Hazem El Beblawy rang the alarm bells about Egypt’s increasing indebtedness in an interview with Al Hadath Al Youm. The former PM called on the government to take action to prevent a debt crisis — but didn’t provide much in the way of a solution himself (watch, runtime: 6:42).

Meanwhile, Wael Ziada, executive chairman of Zilla Capital, speculated that the IMF isn’t likely to force the government into a sudden currency devaluation but could give it space for a gradual decline (watch, runtime: 6:24).

The gradual vs. sudden debate is key right now: Hassan Abdalla’s appointment to head the central bank has brought with it a strong consensus that the government is preparing to let the currency fall against the greenback. The main debate is whether it will do so at a slow pace or opt for a sudden devaluation as happened in March.

While the rest of the country has to rationalize consumption to boost foreign currency, New Alamein can use all the power it wants. Why? To attract tourists to the area, Housing Minister Assem Al Gazzar told Kelma Akhira’s Lamis El Hadidi (watch, runtime: 3:25).

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