BEIJING, June 7 (Xinhuanet) -- Sunday marks a new dawn for Egypt. The president-elect Abdel Fattah Al Sisi will be inaugurated on Sunday evening at the Al-Qubba presidential palace. The former army chief won a landslide victory in the election on Tuesday. But soon after the celebrations of his victory, people shifted their focus to his governing capabilities. Besides the worsening security situation, the new president also needs to solve the country’s economic problems.
55-year-old Shadiya lives with her husband and daughter in a poor residential building. Because her husband is sick, Shadiya is the economic pillar of the family. She washes clothes and cleans carpet in the building for a living. On a good day, she can earn 40 Egyptian pounds, or less than 6 USD, per week. But the cost of living for the whole family is about 14 USD per week, so there is still a large gap.
Shadiya’s 24-year-old daughter has never attended school. Due to family’s condition, she is very depressed.
There are countless families like Shadiya’s in Egypt.
According to the official data, the GDP growth in 2013 was only 2.4 percent, which is much lower than 2010, the year before the political turmoil started, at 5.3 percent.
What’s worse, the GDP for the first quarter of 2014 was only 1 percent.
Experts say, besides restoring social order and stabilizing security, reinvigorating the slumping economy is one of the three key issues for Sisi’s new government.
(Source: CNTV.cn)
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