CAIRO (Web Desk) – New year is supposed to bring better chances and life, at least one can hope so. With the people around the globe, including Pakistan, hit hard by inflation and shrinking purchasing power, many were praying that 2024 would bring some relief.
However, it isn’t the case for the Egyptians who have been facing worsening state of affairs ever since Cairo approached the International Monetary Fund (IMF) thanks to currency devaluation and skyrocketing costs of living, especially food prices and energy tariffs.
In a latest report, Reuters says Egyptians entered the new year facing a series of price hikes as the government battles to keep up with rampant inflation.
Telecom companies raised the prices of their internet services, with state-controlled operator Telecom Egypt increasing the internet service prices by about 33 per cent, effective Jan 5, according to a TE company official who asked not to be named.
Private providers Orange and Vodafone also raised their internet fees, apparently after approval by the National Telecoms Regulatory Authority.
Headline inflation in Egypt was 34.6pc in the year to November.
Electricity prices are also soon set to rise by around 15pc on average, according to reports in local media. The electricity ministry has as of yet made no announcement.
On Monday, Egypt's transport ministry raised the price of tickets on the Cairo metro by up to 20pc, officials in metro stations said, with a ticket for rides of nine stations or less rising to 6 Egyptian pounds ($0.19) from 5 pounds and tickets for some longer trips rising by even more.
Meanwhile, everyone in Pakistan can understand now how difficult it is to please the IMF, albeit we should have known this fact only by Googling its record in Latin America – a region considered as American backyard by the United States.
Read more: Argentina to clinch deal on delayed IMF review after devaluing peso from 366 to 800 per dollar
Earlier, it was reported that Argentina and the IMF were close to an agreement on a review of its $44 billion loan programme, sources said, a key step that would put the country on track to unlock the next tranche of funding.
It was made possible after Javier Milei, the new right-wing president who stands for dollarisation and abolishment of the country’s central bank, went for massive currency devaluation and withdrawal of subsidies.