Egypt restores 1.8 mn people to food subsidies program

Gov’t restores 1.8 mn people to subsidy rolls: The Supply Ministry has added to the country’s subsidy rolls some 1.8 mn people who were wrongfully removed from the system under the ministry’s Great Subsidy Rolls Purge, the ministry said yesterday. The announcement came a day following President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s tweet about measures to shore up the social safety nets and help “protect the rights” of low-income citizens affected by subsidy cuts. The purge of the welfare rolls as part of the ministry’s reforms to the subsidy program have recently entered their fourth phase, and saw the removal of 8 mn Kramers (our semi-fond term for welfare frauds), Supply Minister Ali El Moselhy previously said. Bloomberg also covered the story.