Moment of Truth.. Happy New Year

By: Elham Abul Fateh

Days and 2018 will end, with all joys and sadness it brought.. A new year, 2019, is about to start, and I feel much optimism where Egypt will chair the African Union, a position which has already started days ago, with the participation of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi in the High-Level Forum Africa-Europe, just concluded in Austria.

During those meetings, which was attended by a number of African leaders and officials, President El Sisi presented the Egyptian vision on ways to boost efforts and developmental works in Africa.

Meanwhile, Tanzania announced that Arab Contractors company won the contract to construct Rufiji's Dam and Power Plant in Stiegler's Gorge area, at 1 km in length and 130 meters height.

The project is set to be inaugurated next month by President El Sisi.

In fact, Egypt has started approaching Africa through events, conferences, medical missions, training courses and scholarships for African students at Egyptian universities. Besides, Egypt held cultural events to deepen the African aspect of the Egyptian identity. Egypt hosted African movies’ festivals, and is hosting African-Arab Youth Forum which is scheduled in Aswan city in 2019.

This is only a natural inclination for our mother continent which will certainly pay off on the economic level but also on our future generally. Egypt, is really the world gate to Africa.  

In 2018, there were a lot of significant achievements for President El Sisi and the government.. Service projects, huge water and electricity plants, roads, bridges and new cities created new routes for life. All in addition to the establishment and development of industrial areas in the governorates, which provided thousands of jobs for young people.

In the same year, we also witnessed the establishment of giant projects and economic progress acknowledged by Egyptians as well as the world institutions… an increase in the economic growth rate to 5.8%, a decrease in inflation to 10% during the new fiscal year, as well as an increase in the foreign currency reserves, decrease in unemployment rate to less than 11%. In addition, the total deficit was decreased to 8.4%, and a primary surplus was measured as  2% of GDP, accompanied by a real shift in lives with projects such as establishing housing projects instead of slums ‘Sitra’, ‘Mahrusa’, ‘Asmarat’ and ‘Ahlena’.

In addition, one million housing units were constructed as well as ‘100 million health’ project for treatment was kicked off across the country and the health insurance law to cover all Egyptians was adopted.

1.4 million Egyptians were treated from “Hepatitis C" at a cost of 3.7 billion pounds and a medical scanning were conducted to about 20 million citizens within a plan to reach 50 million Egyptian in 2020.

The number of university hospitals increased from 88 to 109 hospitals with an increase at 23%, the number of research projects increased by 232% and the number of scientific research increased by 29%. Plans were designed for the development of education.

In addition, the number of beneficiaries from pension  "Takaful and Karama" was increased to more than 2.5 million families and the number of the social security pension beneficiaries reached a million and 750,000. There was an increase in the pension allocations from 6 billion pounds three years ago to 17 billion and 250 million pounds to cover 10 percent of Egypt's children in the most needy families.

Giant economic projects in the Suez Canal axis were designed and being implemented.. All in all, the developmental efforts never stopped for a single day..

The efforts are continuing.. So as in a single day, we see the president with the students in military academy by dawn, and then we see him attending a conference or opening or inspecting a number of projects and then suddenly we find him on a trip to a country with which we have interests and relations. A year passed, he didn’t have rest.. Every day.. a new project and a new visit.

In a short time, we found national projects spread all over the country.. with Upper Egypt placed a priority for the President .. The desalination project of sea water in the "Al-Yosr station", the Granito cement complex, 3 new roads within the national road project in Beni Suef, Sohag National Museum and new barrages of Asuit, which is one of the largest water facilities built by the Nile recently, to improve the state of irrigation, and the largest wind power plant in the world, located 118 km away in the ‘Habl Elzeet” area south of the city of Ras Ghareb, on an area of ​​100 square kilometers.

The achievements are not only at the economic, political and social levels, but also there are many achievements for the Egyptian woman, which the president strongly supports. We found him honoring the struggling Egyptian women and welcoming them to the doors of the presidential palace. The last of them was the one he met in a way to the new administrative capital. She was driving a microbus to earn her living. He honored her and gifted her a car.

Allah .. Please make the new year full of happiness and fulfil all our wishes and dreams .. Oh God, I ask you the best of this year and beyond, its light, blessings and guidance.. and a shelter from all bad things .. Allah.. I ask you to protect my family and my country and its President and support her with success in all efforts carried out.

God, I ask you all good and happiness for my country and my people.

Translated by: Yassmine ElSayed