Economists: Egyptian army earns 25% from the increase in fuel prices

Some 25 per cent of the Egyptian state’s savings from the recent increase in fuel prices go to the army, a group of economists said yesterday.

According to a statement by the Economists Against the Coup movement, the army’s budget receives 25 per cent of the savings achieved thanks to the recent rise in fuel prices. The army does not pay taxes on any of its highly profitable economic projects, the statement added.

The movement launched a Facebook campaign entitled “Know where your money is going”. It pointed out that, according to the fifth chapter of the budget published on the website of the Ministry of Finance, the “other expenses” include three main areas: defence, intelligence and judiciary. Since two billion Egyptian pounds ($0.28 billion) have been allocated to the judiciary, the rest is allocated to the defence and intelligence.

“If we subtract the Intelligence Budget, about one billion Egyptian pounds ($0.14 billion), and the Judiciary, from the 49 billion Egyptian pounds ($6.85 billion) allocated to this chapter, we will find that the defence budget in the new fiscal year is equal to 45 billion Egyptian pounds ($6.29 billion), compared to 35 billion Egyptian pounds ($4.89 billion) this year, which is a 10 per cent rise,” the economists said.

The movement expressed its astonishment at the surge in the defence budget, which never exceeded 2 billion Egyptian pounds annually over the past 10 years.