Presidential spokesperson Yasser Ali said Monday that President Mohamed Morsy will explain the successes and failures of the first 100 days to the people once they have passed.
Speaking at a press conference, Ali said, “We put 64 indicators in place to gauge our performance.” He added that some people were disappointed at the grievance bureaus due to the fact that many of the requests were for jobs or housing units, which require time to meet.
Morsy had pledged to improve security, solve traffic problems, ensure steady fuel supplies, improve the quality of subsidized bread and solve the problem of garbage collection within the first 100 days of his rule. While observers say hardly any of those five issues has been adequately addressed, Freedom and Justice Party leaders complain about red tape, which they say is a legacy of the regime of ousted President Hosni Mubarak.
According to “Morsy meter,” a page launched by activists on Facebook to gauge Morsy’s performance over the first 100 days of his term, Morsy managed to fulfill only four of a total of 64 pledges. Even though Morsy’s plan included solving the recurrent fuel crisis, fuel shortages continue to be reported in various places across the country.
In response to a question about the doctors' strike, Ali said the president had promised doctors to raise their salaries gradually, and to increase government expenditure on health.
“We suffered a deficit of LE170 billion last year and LE140 billion this year,” he said. “Many people have demands, while resources are limited. We need patience and harder work.”
With regard to the maximum wage for government employees, Ali said that it has been applied as of January 2012, as the finance minister confirmed more than once, at a rate 35 times the minimum. “It would be increased steadily, while the government would provide more resources for a better minimum wage,” he said.
The government in August of last year raised salaries from LE400 to LE700 a month (about US$117).
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
