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Egypt Independent
24-05-2025
- Business
- Egypt Independent
Sisi ratifies final accounts for FY 2023–2024 budgets of several authorities
CAIRO, May 22 (MENA) – President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has ratified laws approving the final accounts for the budgets of several government entities for the 2023–2024 fiscal year. The approved budgets include those of the National Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development with LE231,083,980, the National Authority for Quality Assurance and Accreditation of Education with LE79,570,302, the Cairo International Stadium Authority with LE162,944,450, and the University Support and Development Authority with LE1,256,680,366. Additionally, the president ratified final accounts for the Grand Egyptian Museum, totaling LE10,735,845,612, the National Academy for Training, amounting to LE407,748,708, the General Authority for Tourism Development, with LE3,696,610,325, and the Prison Manufacturing and Production Fund, recording LE775,144,524. The laws were published in the Official Gazette. (MENA)
Mada
15-05-2025
- Health
- Mada
UN refugee agency shrinks cash assistance program amid funding crisis
Citing funding shortfall, the United Nations refugee agency in Egypt announced this week it would suspend all assessment interviews for refugees applying for financial support from the organization. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is among the scores of humanitarian organizations and projects, in Egypt and beyond, affected by the United States's foreign aid cuts. The cuts have trickled down to impact the availability of services provided to millions of beneficiaries in Egypt, including hundreds of thousands of refugees. 'The agency's funding crisis extended into its cash assistance program, which was shrunk,' Christine Beshay, UNHCR external relations officer in Egypt, told Mada Masr. Eligible families currently receive LE1,100-LE1,200 in assistance per month, depending on the size of their family, Beshay explained. She said the cash benefits can be used to pay for rent or food but cannot cover a family's total expenditure. Though the UN agency doesn't intend to suspend the cash assistance program altogether, cutbacks will likely mean fewer people can benefit from it, she added, and will eventually affect the amount received by each person. Cash assistance has already been suspended for a number of beneficiaries, Beshay confirmed. Any applicants who have recently been granted refugee status are immediately placed on the waiting list for cash assistance assessment interviews. 'We are unfortunately unable to assist new beneficiaries given the long waiting list, it has to be a very urgent case to receive an exception,' she noted. She noted that there are currently thousands of families on the program's waiting list, adding that 'without additional funding, a bigger issue will arise.' In its attempt to cut costs, the agency has stopped working with a third-party organization that used to conduct vulnerability assessments for cash assistance applicants, relying instead on different types of case referrals, she continued. In March, UNHCR's funding crisis also led to the suspension of the medical services it supported for the almost 1 million registered refugees in the country, with the exception of life-saving care, halting the provision of cancer treatments, heart surgery and medication for chronic diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension, for nearly 200,000 beneficiaries. This crisis follows US President Donald Trump's decision in January to freeze US international aid for 90 days and terminate thousands of US Agency for International Development (USAID) projects, affecting thousands of humanitarian aid and development programs across the globe. Apart from the shockwaves caused by Trump's decisions, global humanitarian funding has been decreasing across the board, the agency previously told Mada Masr, with many donors cutting their contributions. When announcing the suspension of its medical services, UNHCR noted that it had planned to raise $135 million in funding last year to support its services in Egypt throughout 2025, but received less than half of that amount. The agency's latest factsheet also shows it has only raised 16 percent of the targeted funding for this year so far. Some of the most vulnerable people in Egypt rely on UN support, including Sudanese refugees who were displaced north by the war in their country. Egypt has absorbed over 1.5 million Sudanese refugees since the war began in April 2023, including those registered by the UNHCR. However, the country has since become increasingly hostile to refugees, with Egyptian officials repeatedly stating that the government cannot continue to provide services to refugees and foreign 'guests' indefinitely. A new bill on refugee affairs currently making its way through the legislature would hand many of the functions currently performed by the UN over to the government, including the discretion to grant refugee status. It will also codify prohibitions on certain rights and freedoms for registered refugees.
Egypt Independent
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Egypt Independent
All you need to know about the first joint concert between Rappers Marwan Moussa and Pablo
Rappers Marwan Moussa and Marwan Pablo are preparing to perform their first concert together, titled 'Project Meem,' on May 23 at a major mall. Tazkarti revealed the ticket prices for the concert, which include five categories starting from LE550 to LE1,000. The first category, priced at LE550 has sold out. The second category is priced at LE650. The third category is priced at LE800 and has sold out. The fourth range is priced at LE900 and has also sold out. The fifth range is priced at LE1,000. The organizing body also issued a number of instructions to ensure the concert's discipline, most notably the non-refund or exchange of tickets after purchase, and the prohibition of entry for children under 12 years old. Moussa recently released his new album, 'The Man Who Lost His Heart,' with SALXCO UAM and Virgin Records, on various digital music platforms. The album includes 23 songs, in which Moussa takes his listeners on an trip through his deepest emotions. It consists of five parts, each embodying the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.
Al-Ahram Weekly
19-03-2025
- Business
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Ramadan branding - Economy - Al-Ahram Weekly
'Ramadan in Egypt is something else' is one of the popular songs by UAE singer Hussein Al-Jassmi associated with the holy month of Ramadan. Listening to it one would imagine it was promoting tourism to Egypt, encouraging tourists from other Arab countries to experience Egypt's Ramadan traditions. Instead, it was the song that accompanied the television Ramadan advertisement of one of the four telecommunications companies. That was back in 2021 and even though the song has lingered, no one remembers the ad. Four years on, the same trend of advertising through catchy songs warm with feeling continues during the month of fasting. Even a public service advertisement promoting new simplified tax regulations targeted at small business has two young comedians singing a message encouraging businesses from dry cleaners and tailors to doctors and lawyers to present their books to the Ministry of Finance. Over the years, telecommunications companies, real estate developers and charity organisations have become the top three categories advertising heavily throughout the month, says professor of advertising Nagwa Al-Gazzar. 'It is their annual opportunity to remind viewers of the identity of their companies,' Al-Gazzar explained. Some of the ads are not promoting a specific product, she pointed out, but they are branding themselves. Real estate developers, especially newcomers to the market, also take the opportunity to present their projects and financing incentives, Al-Gazzar said, especially at a time when buying real estate has become prohibitively expensive. Ramadan is the ultimate primetime TV for advertising. Over 35 new TV series are airing this year throughout the month. A 30-second spot could cost over LE1 million depending on their placement. Millions of families coming together for the Iftar (dusk meal after fasting) often with friends, gather to watch the shows. They are a captive audience; advertisers' message is bound to reach them, says Fatma Halim, senior communications consultant at Egyptian public relations firm Publicist Inc. Even the younger generations who prefer to watch streaming services cannot escape the messages being aired around Iftar, Halim said. That is why companies invest heavily in Ramadan ads, often employing multiple celebrities, and paying millions of pounds for television airtime. They want to create what is called a 'top-of-mind awareness' so that their brand or product is the first to come to a consumer's mind when thinking of a particular industry or product category, she explained, adding however, that some fail to deliver a message about the product or brand, leaving viewers at odds despite having invested heavily in the production of the ad. The songs and dances associated with the advertisements have made them entertainment in themselves. At the outset of every Ramadan many people look forward to seeing what the ads look like and how brands have topped each other. 'Ramadan ads are prepared five months ahead and companies do their best to try to find out what the others are doing and how many celebrities they are using,' Al-Gazzar said. But why is it that songs dominate Ramadan ads? 'Advertisers are betting on what works' even if there is a risk that viewers might not remember the product, noted Halim. Even charity organisations have their jingles. 'They are all competing for the attention of donors,' said Al-Gazzar, explaining that Ramadan is often the time when Muslims pay their annual zakat al-mal which entails giving away a small percentage of one's wealth to the needy. While in the past, charity ads used to feature heart-wrenching but at times cringe-worthy cases, be they burn victims or cancer patients, seeking the sympathy of viewers, in recent years they have changed tactics, Halim said. Now their ads often feature celebrities singing and dancing happily with survivors. They must have changed their tactics based on market research, explained Halim, adding that the tragedies displayed in the past were putting off viewers. Another factor putting off viewers is the length of ads, often extending beyond the ideal length of 30 seconds. 'The advertising breaks are also exceptionally long,' said Al-Gazzar, 'and viewers forget what they were watching when the show resumes,' she noted, adding that some give up on continuing to watch and just leave. * A version of this article appears in print in the 20 March, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Mada
09-03-2025
- Business
- Mada
No state support for Ramadan? Irregular workers still awaiting grants expected during holy month
Though the cost of living often shoots up during Ramadan, several irregular laborers told Mada Masr that they have yet to receive the income support grant they registered for and expected at the start of the holy month. Project-based and seasonal laborers, a type of employment often found in the construction industry, are eligible to register with the Labor Ministry for periodic income support grants — an initiative introduced during the coronavirus pandemic. One worker from Giza told Mada Masr that they usually have no issues collecting the grant, with the most recent disbursement received in January. When available, the grant is typically distributed through national post office branches on the second day of the month. However, despite repeated visits to the Wardan post office, the worker has yet to receive the Ramadan grant. 'The post office won't say when it will be paid. They don't know,' they said. Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk announced in February that the grant would increase from LE1,000 to LE1,500 as part of a new social support package, with disbursements scheduled six times a year. The grant is regularly distributed on four national holidays: Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Mouled al-Nabi (the Prophet's birthday) and Labor Day, according to the Labor Ministry's website. The worker from Giza noted that they, along with others registered for the grants, are accustomed to receiving the Eid al-Fitr grant in two installments: one at the beginning of Ramadan and another closer to Eid al-Fitr. However, when inquiring at post offices this year, they were met with the response, 'We don't know.' Former secretary-general of the independent union for irregular workers, Mohamed Abdel Kader, told Mada Masr that many workers have reported being unable to collect the grant since the start of Ramadan. Shaimaa Abdallah, head of the Labor Ministry's irregular employment administration, declined to disclose the expected payment date, telling Mada Masr, 'We are not authorized to speak to the press except through the ministry's media office.' When Mada Masr reached out to the ministry's media advisor, Abdel Wahab Khedr, he briefly said that authorities are currently reviewing the list of eligible recipients and coordinating with post offices for disbursement. He urged workers facing difficulties in receiving the grant to contact him. While some irregular laborers haven't received the grants they expected over the holy month, others haven't received their installments for much longer, according to Abdel Kader. Some workers speaking to Mada Masr were uncertain whether authorities still consider them eligible to receive the grants, despite having registered for and received them in the past. The Labor Ministry's information page on the grant does not specify how workers can verify their occupation or check if they are registered in the government's database. But workers who spoke to Mada Masr described submitting proof of employment with a particular company, on the understanding that this was sufficient to qualify for the grant. Abdel Kader likewise said that the ministry's database only includes employees working for registered companies or places of employment. Several workers, however, described losing access to grants after changing jobs, despite job mobility being a constant feature in the sector. 'If a worker leaves their job, they stop receiving payments under the pretext that the company hasn't updated the records,' Abdel Kader said. One construction carpenter previously employed by Hassan Allam Construction Company, which registered him in the irregular workers' database at the time, told Mada Masr that they lost access to the grant after leaving their job. 'I haven't received anything for over a year and a half,' they said. When they inquired at the labor force office in Giza, they were told, 'Your name is there, but it hasn't been updated.' Another construction carpenter from Shubra al-Kheima, Qalyubiya Governorate, said they have been unable to collect the grant for two years and three months, despite confirming their registration with the labor force office in the area.
