High time SIS holds western media accountable and refutes the fallacies they come up with.
Ahram Online
Monday 19 Jun 2023
The Egyptian State Information Service (SIS) issued a statement in response to what it called the "fallacies and allegations" contained in a report published by the British newspaper The Economist on the economic and political situation in Egypt.
It said The Economist report violated all rules and ethics of journalism and included repeated uncorroborated accusations based on unknown sources.
The newspaper also published "erroneous figures and incorrect data without citing any credible source, in addition to other allegations and misinformation that indicate a lack of knowledge about what is happening in Egypt on the political, economic, social and cultural levels," the statement added.
Unsourced allegations
The Economist report is partial, biased, offensive and a deliberate distortion. It did not consult any Egyptian party to verify the information before it was published, the SIS noted.
The report, the SIS said, cited 13 sources and only identified one – a Lebanese researcher.
The report cited unsourced economic data, including the claim that food inflation is 60 percent. This happened despite the fact that the government provides official data on monthly and yearly core and general inflation.
In addition, the report claimed that more than half of Egyptians are poor. It also claimed that Gulf Arab countries have provided $100 billion in aid to Egypt, the cost of the New Administrative Capital is $58 billion and the cost of railways is $23 billion, among other economic figures.
These claims were made "without referring to a single Egyptian or international source who agrees or supports these figures, and without explaining the breakdown of the amount, areas of expenditure and the importance in the field of rebuilding the infrastructure of the economy and society," added the SIS.
Hot money
The statement also addressed the newspaper’s claim that $20 billion in so-called “hot money” was withdrawn from Egypt by foreign investors in 2022 due to “dwindling business confidence.”
Instead, the SIS explained, the withdrawal of this money can be attributed to successive global crises.
"The repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic and then the Russia-Ukraine war and the consequent strict financial and monetary policies on the part of major economic markets have led to the exodus of funds from emerging markets and developing countries – not just Egypt.”
This effect has been compounded by the continued raising of interest rates by major economies, it added.
The statement also pointed to the latest World Economic Outlook 2023 report issued by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) two months ago. This report, according to the SIS, confirms that the monetary and financial policies of major markets are the main drive for the exodus of funds from emerging markets.
The IMF also indicated that the general debt of all countries, but especially developing ones, doubled due to the pandemic, and then worsened again due to the Russia-Ukraine war, according to the statement.
National Dialogue
The SIS statement also attacked the British paper for describing the ongoing National Dialogue as an "old trick" and a “charade,” with only “handpicked” participants.
These are incorrect assumptions that contradict reality, the SIS noted, adding that the National Dialogue took place at the invitation of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.
The National Dialogue’s Board of Trustees includes 20 members representing all Egyptian currents. Meanwhile, its committees include 44 rapporteurs and assistants drawn from political parties, trade unions, popular and societal movements, experts, youth, women and all segments of society.
It is an independent dialogue and is not subject to interference from any state authorities, it noted.
The statement explained that 65 political parties are participating in the dialogue and that not one has declined to join.
The dialogue’s secretariat has received hundreds of thousands of contributions, all of which received attention and were studied.
The dialogue held its opening session on 3 May in the presence of about 1,000 people, including ambassadors, journalists, foreign correspondents, representatives of all political parties and currents, political and community movements and trade unions.
In addition, the SIS said registration for the dialogue has been open to all Egyptians for several months.
The dialogue’s recommendations will be submitted to the president, who has publicly pledged to adopt them, by the use of his constitutional prerogatives, as well as the state executive and legislative institutions.
‘Scandalous allegations’
Elsewhere in the statement, the SIS said that “among other inaccuracies included in The Economist report is repeating the false claim of the detention of 60,000 prisoners for political reasons, without mentioning any credible source.”
"The most scandalous allegation is the claim that Egypt may “offer a 99-year lease of the Suez Canal” for a trillion dollars; by reporting so, the report repeats rumours of a fake contract whose forgery was exposed to the whole world several months ago," it noted.
The SIS summoned the correspondent from The Economist in Egypt and handed him a letter of protest against, demanding the newspaper to be objective and impartial and to conform to the ethics of journalism when dealing with Egypt's affairs.
Comments