As it strives to deal with ongoing pressure on its currency and growing inflation, the Egyptian government has urged ministries to reduce non-essential spending until the end of the fiscal year in June.
Any new national initiative that heavily relies on foreign currency must be delayed, according to the January 4 order, which also mandates that ministries obtain consent from the finance ministry before spending any foreign currency.
The ministries in charge of spending on energy and food subsidies, as well as the ministries of health, interior, foreign policy, and defense, are exempt.
Travel, marketing, conferences, grants, and employee training are a few of the expenses identified as non-essential. The amount of money that could be saved during this period of inflation was not specified in the judgement.
Despite allowing the Egyptian pound to decline significantly in recent months, most recently last week, Egypt has continued to experience a foreign currency shortage.
In recent years, Egypt has invested considerably in significant infrastructure projects. These include the construction of a new capital east of Cairo and a significant road network, both of which have come under fire yet helped keep the economy afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Early in 2021, when Egypt faced financial difficulties, the central bank restricted import financing, which resulted in a significant backlog of cargo at ports.
An important condition of a 46-month financial support plan from the International Monetary Fund that was confirmed in December was the lifting of the limits. Another requirement of the IMF agreement was more exchange rate flexibility.