It was an economy-heavy night on the talk shows, with the latest on our USD crisis and IMF program center stage throughout the evening’s topics of conversation.

Madbouly acknowledges USD shortage: “Egypt is facing a currency crisis, but it will be over soon,” Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said yesterday during a press statement (watch, runtime: 2:58). He also argued that this crisis has highlighted the need for Egypt to localize production.

Lamees didn’t take it well: “This is not the first time we hear such comments,” Kelma Akhira’s Lamees El Hadidi told her viewers and urged the the Madbouly government to tell the public how the currency crisis will be handled (watch, runtime: 3:19). “We cannot blame this on the covid-19 pandemic, the Russian-Ukrainian war, or even the war on Gaza. These are problems that came on top of already existing problems like spending priorities and carelessness regarding industry … We need a more resilient economy,” she added.

Economic reforms are key, according to economist Medhat Nafei (watch, runtime: 8:10) and banking expert Tarek Metwally (watch, runtime: 10:06).

Don’t get too excited about a potentially bigger IMF program, says Adib. A larger IMF program increased by USD 2 bn to USD 5 bn will come with extra conditions, a large chunk of which will be difficult to fulfill, El Hekaya’s Amr Adib said in his usual calm and collected way (watch, runtime: 3:28). Kelma Akhira (watch, runtime: 6:38) and Masa’a DMC (watch, runtime: 2:52) both had the news and we’ve got our own coverage in the news well, above.

Sugar is back in the market: The Supply Ministry has tapped into its reserves to help fill the gap in sugar supply that pushed prices to soar up to EGP 40 per kilo from their usual EGP 27, ministry spokesman Ahmed Kamal told Kelma Akhira (watch, runtime: 2:22).

ALSO ON THE AIRWAVES- Yamama continues his media tour: Al Wafd’s presidential candidate Abdel Sanad Yamama was on Ala Maso’uleety (watch, runtime: 5:57 | 3:14 | 3:23) last night to tell viewers what a Yamana presidency would look like. Yamana pledged to raise the minimum wage to EGP 5k within a year, boost private sector activity, and better manage state assets.

Every vote counts, even from overseas: Emigration Minister Soha Gendy joined Masa’a DMC (watch,runtime: 8:00) to push Egyptian expats to vote in the upcoming presidential elections.

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