President El Sisi’s African tour led the talk shows last night, while rising meat prices, an agreement between Swvl and the Transport Ministry, and a warning from football union Fifpro about the Egyptian league all got attention.

GERD top of the agenda as Sisi meets African leaders: Most of the nation’s talking heads had something to say about the president’s current diplomatic tour in Southern Africa, with the issue of the Ethiopian dam leading discussions. Following talks yesterday, Angolan President Joao Lourenco said during a press conference that “the Nile cannot be monopolized” and that the issue of the GERD must be settled through dialogue – which Ala Mas’ouleety’s Ahmed Moussa described as “the strongest statement from a head of state on the GERD” (watch, runtime: 3:36 | 4:01 | 8:06). Al Hayah Al Youm (watch, runtime: 4:45), Masa’a DMC (watch, runtime: 1:20 | 0:50) and eXtra News (watch, runtime: 6:41) also covered the visit.

Speaking of the GERD: There are many areas and scenarios that would allow the parties of the GERD crisis to reach a beneficial agreement without affecting the interests of those involved, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid said on an interview with Al Waraqa Al Qalam (watch, runtime: 3:26 | 2:12 | 4:22). “The concept of absolute sovereignty over an international river is an obsolete principle in international law…There is no such thing as absolute sovereignty over a common resource,” he said.

Meat prices hit record highs ahead of Eid Al Adha: Prices are at record highs with a kilo of meat selling for EGP 400, said Moussa, while the price of a sacrifice is up to EGP 100k. Some butchers justified the rise due to feed prices, demanding that more live meat be imported from abroad. Consumer cooperative shops are reportedly offering EGP 195 per kilo (watch, runtime: 6:31 | 10:52 | 4:39 | 4:46). Al Hayah Al Youm also covered the program (watch, runtime: 8:04 | 7:43).

Swvl to provide new capital lifts: Cairo-born mass transit app Swvl has become the first company to receive a ride-hailing license after a new law was brought in to help regulate the sector, Transport Minister Kamel El Wazir told Sada El Balad (watch, runtime: 16:02). The five-year agreement signed yesterday falls under the Passenger Transportation Law, which allows the ministry to monitor the cars requested by passengers in order to ensure good service and safety, El Waizr said, clarifying that “the state will have a supervisory and regulatory role only in this new type of transport.”

ALSO FROM SWVL–Swvl aims to increase its revenues in Egypt by 87% to EGP 1.5 bn this year, CEO and co-founder Mostafa Kandil told Asharq Business yesterday. The startup generated EGP 800 mn in revenues in Egypt in 2022. Kandil declined to disclose the company’s profit or loss numbers in Egypt for 2022.

Football union warns players against signing for Egyptian clubs: Egyptian Football Association Executive Director Walid El Attar was on Ala Mas’ouleety to respond to global football union Fifpro, which has warned players against signing for clubs in Egypt. In a statement yesterday, the organization said that there have been increasing cases of players not receiving their salaries and being subjected to “abusive behavior,” such as having their passports confiscated. El Attar denied the claims, telling Moussa that there have been no complaints from any foreign players in the Egyptian league regarding delayed pay (watch, runtime: 7:22).

Also on the airwaves last night:

  • A second tranche of certificates for Egypt’s first gold investment fund was featured on Masa’a DMC, who spoke to Ahmed Abu Al-Saad about the fund’s plans (watch, runtime: 1:11). Fund managers Evolve and Azimut closed the first tranche earlier this week, raising EGP 153 mn.
  • The World Bank’s report regarding Egypt’s economic growth caught Moussa’s attention on Ala Mas’ouleety (watch, runtime: 8:06).
  • All students arriving from Sudan and Ukraine that meet the enrolment conditions for Egyptian universities will be accepted, Higher Education Minister Adel Abdel Ghaffar said on Ala Mas’ouleety after news emerged that some students could not provide the required identification (watch, runtime: 5:03 | 4:05).


This story was corrected on 11 June, 2023 to reflect that Swvl received the country’s first ride-hailing license, not the first license to operate smart transport links between Greater Cairo and the new capital. 

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