Archive for Central Agency for Public Mobilization

Investor: Butane cylinders to be distributed by coupons next month

by admin
November 18th, 2012

The Egyptian government has said it will start applying a coupon system for the distribution of butane gas cylinders next month, according to the head of an association of private investors in liquefied petroleum gas.

The Supply Ministry has reached an agreement with private and state-owned petroleum companies to distribute the gas, Mohamed Saad Eddin, head of the association, told state-run news agency MENA on Sunday.

The system primarily aims to make sure only those who deserve subsidies receive them, to prevent black market sales and the reoccurrence of cylinder distribution shortages at this time each year, Saad Eddin said.

He noted that the cylinders would be distributed with subsidy coupons. A family of three or four will get one coupon to be traded for a butane cylinder each month, and a family of five or more will receive two coupons.

According to reports by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, natural gas and butane prices rose by about 57.8 percent in October when compared to the previous month.

The rising price of gas and butane contributed to 7 percent inflation in October, when compared to the previous month.

Saad Eddin said the value of coupons was LE5, compared to the actual cost of the cylinder, LE55.

The coupon will be distributed to those who do not have a supply card at the price of LE25.

Saad Eddin said the prices of subsidized goods have to be sold at their actual market value, while low-income citizens should be supported with subsidized products.

Egypt consumes nearly four million tons of butane annually, and nearly two million tons is imported from abroad, according to Saad Eddin.

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Categories Egypt Economy
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Suspending mobile provider license threatens Telecom Egypt, says official

by admin
November 1st, 2012

A government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, has criticized the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) for refusing to offer a fourth mobile phone license, despite the fact that it was announced more than three years ago.

He said that this would threaten state-owned Telecom Egypt (TE), the only provider for landlines, which is losing market shares to mobile phone companies, which now possess more than 85 percent of the market.



He called on both President Mohamed Morsy and Prime Minister Hesham Qandil to save the company from collapse, especially as it employs more than 60,000 people.



NTRA President Amr Badawy insists on suspending the license.



He explained that the mobile phone companies provide landline and mobile phone and Internet services, while Telecom Egypt only provides ground services for both. Statistics from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics show that Egyptians spend LE35 billion annually on mobile phones and the Internet, but only 14 percent goes to TE, while the rest goes to mobile phone providers to transfer abroad.



He contended that a certain mobile phone company made profits 35 times the investment it had initially spent.



TE workers have threatened demonstrations to pressure the government to grant their company the license.



Landline subscribers dropped from 11 million to 8 million in the last three years, during which time 92 million mobile lines were sold by the three providers: Vodafone, Etisalat and Mobinil.



Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
 

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Categories Egypt Economy
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Rice straw burning forms black cloud over Gharbiya

by admin
October 22nd, 2012

The governor of Gharbiya Govenorate in the Nile Delta called on officials to try to stem the rising level of rice straw burning, state news agency MENA reported.

The move comes after Governor Mohamed Abdel Kader received satellite images showing that rice straw burning has produced a huge black cloud above Gharbiya.

The governor also requested daily reports from the officials to follow up on the matter in person.

In the last decade, Cairo and the Delta region have experienced “black clouds” — thick layers of smog that officials say result from burning rice straw in the Delta.

This month, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, a government research agency, said rice production in the country rose by 31.2 percent in 2010/11, reaching 5.6 million tons, compared with 4.3 million tons in 2009/10.

Experts say such production produces more than 30 million tons of waste each year.

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Morsy asks for official count of people with physical disabilities

by admin
September 29th, 2012

An official government source said that President Mohamed Morsy asked the National Council for the Disabled to do a formal count of the real number of people with disabilities in Egypt, in order to assist their employment in the government.

The count willl identify the disability of each person in order to grant them jobs that suits their circumstances.

Morsy’s instructions came after a document issued by the National Council for the Disabled revealed that the number of people with physical disabilities in Egypt, according to a count performed by the World Health Organization, is about 13 million.

The official census of the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics say that the number is only half a million, something which is attributed by Safwat al-Nahas, head of the Central authority Organization and Management, to the fact that some families do not want to disclose that they have physically disabled children, for fear of society's perception.

Al-Nahas told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the National Council for the Disabled assigned the census to the Ministry of Administrative Development to be completed before the end of this year.

He pointed out that the council is currently considering issuing a new bill for the rights of the physically disabled in accordance with international laws.

Former Prime Minister Kamal Ganzouri established the council in 2012.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Unemployment surges to 3.3 million, statistics agency says

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August 14th, 2012

Unemployment rates have risen to 12.6 percent, or 3.3 million people, during the second quarter of this year, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics said Tuesday.

Unemployment was 11.8 percent during the same period last year.

The head of the Egyptian Federation of Independent Syndicates, Kamal Abu Eita, doubted the numbers and said they were a lie.

The percentage of unemployed people who have previously held employment is 26.3, CAPMAS said.

Unemployment for youth between the ages of 15 and 29 reached 77.5 percent, and 85.4 percent of the unemployed are college graduates.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
 

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Youth are quarter of Egypt’s population, and half of them are poor

by admin
August 12th, 2012

Young people represent 24.3 percent of Egypt’s population, and slightly over half of them are impoverished, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics.

In a statement released Saturday to coincide with World Youth Day, the agency said that of Egypt’s 20 million people between the ages of 18-29, 51.3 percent live in poverty. The agency also found that the contribution of young people to the labor force over the past year amounts to 51.5 percent. Of that number, 75.4 percent of labor force participants are male and 25.4 percent female.

Similarly, the unemployment rate is higher among young females, at 44.6 percent compared to 18.7 percent for males. Unemployment among young people from both genders amount to 24.9 percent.

The CAPMAS report explains that the unemployment rate among females who graduated from general vocational school is about 65.2 percent, and 56.9 percent for graduates of technical vocational schools. The rate is lower within young females who hold a university degree, amounting to 51.1 percent.

The report also said that the gender breakdown among Egyptian youth is 50.5 percent male, 49.5 percent female.

Edited translation from MENA

 

 

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Average family spends 40% on food and beverages, says CAPMAS

by admin
July 16th, 2012

A recent study by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics has shown that the Egyptian family spends an average of 40 percent of its income on food and beverages, while the percentage of the annual expenditure on education is 3.9 percent.

The study, which was conducted in 2010/11, showed that a family headed by an illiterate breadwinner spends 45.5 percent on food and beverages, one with secondary education 40.5 percent and one with a university degree 30.8 percent.

The study also revealed that families living in backyards or cemeteries spend 63 percent on food and beverages, those in flats 38.4 percent, and those in villas 24.4 percent.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Categories Egypt Economy
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Food prices changed drastically in May, statistics agency says

by admin
June 25th, 2012

Food prices drastically changed in May compared to the previous month, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics.

The prices of lemon and cheese went up while the prices of tilapia fish, chicken and white rice have fallen, the agency said Monday in its monthly report on the average of prices for foods in urban areas.

The agency said the price of a kilogram of lemons jumped 94.2 percent, from LE5.31 in April to LE10.31 in May.

A kilogram of cottage cheese increased 4.4 percent to LE11.8, compared to LE11.3 in April.

The prices of tilapia fish, local white rice and chicken declined. Tilapia prices dropped 5.3 percent, from LE18.78 to LE17.78. White rice prices also fell 5.3 percent, from LE4.71 to LE4.46. Average prices for chicken fell from LE22.02 to LE21.02, a decrease of 4.5 percent.

The report said prices of food have increased in May 2012 compared to the same month last year. A kilogram of cottage cheese, white rice, milk and beef increased 11.8 percent, 17.6 percent, 10.7 percent and 10.3 percent, respectively.

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Public employees get paid holiday for election

by admin
June 13th, 2012

Government employees will get two paid days off during the presidential election on 16 and 17 June, Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri announced Wednesday.

Ganzouri urged people to accept whatever outcome the runoff yields, and voiced hope that political stability would be restored.

There are some 5 million government employees, including municipal staff, according to the state's Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics. The now-dissolved National Democratic Party traditionally mobilized government employees to support the ruling party under President Hosni Mubarak.

Competing in the runoffs are the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsy and former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq.

Political and legal experts speaking to the Freedom and Justice Party's website earlier this month had criticized the government’s plan to give public employees vacation during the polls, dismissing the move as a waste of public funds.

The commentators said employees may be instructed to vote for Shafiq, alleging that several officials have warned their employees they will lose their jobs if they do not.

The website quoted the same sources as saying that the prime minister's decision is illegal as state-decreed vacations are limited to national holidays by law.

Salah Gouda, professor at Nahda University in Beni Suef, claims the paid vacation days will cost the state LE250 million.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Tourism declines 28.6% in January 2012

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April 13th, 2012

The number of tourists visiting Egypt has dropped by 28.6 percent in January 2012 in comparison to last year, according to a government report issued Thursday.

The total number of tourists in January 2012 was 820,000, compared with 1. 15 million in January 2011, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics reported.

Tourism from Western Europe declined the most, followed by Eastern Europe.

The number of Arab tourists was 167,000 in January 2012, compared to 139,000 in January 2011, an increase of 20.5 percent.

Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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