Cabinet spokesperson Mohamed El Homsani blanketed the airwaves this weekend, calling up the hosts of as many shows as he could to give us the latest on the return of rolling blackouts following Ramadan, pharma prices, and other hot button issues.

How long will blackouts last? We’re in the dark on that one: “The electricity blackouts are being treated as a temporary measure, but it is difficult to know exactly how long they will last,” El Homsani told Amr Adib on El Hekaya (watch, runtime: 26:46). The Madbouly government is aware of the burden this places on citizens, but the measure saves the state’s public treasury c. USD 1 bn annually, El Homsani stressed. Money not spent on fuel to power generators can go towards bigger priorities like food and medicine, he added.

The gov’t will hit pause on blackouts during Coptic Holidays, El Homsani told Ahmed Moussa on Ala Masouleety (watch, runtime: 1:35).

How and when pharma prices could change: The possibility of hiking up the price of meds is still under review by the Egyptian Drug Authority, El Homsani explained. The decision whether to increase prices and by how much will depend on the USD exchange rate, the cost of production, and patients’ ability to pay, El Homsani explained.

Good news for those looking to buy a car: Asian car dealers have begun to lower their prices following the stabilization of the USD exchange rate, industry insider Ahmed Ammar said on El Hekaya (watch, runtime: 10:43). Small-engined cars are the first to witness a drop in prices as they are less heavily taxed than larger-engined cars, he added. Ammar advised to wait around two to three months until the exchange rate stabilizes before purchasing a car, as car prices are likely to fall more — but he stopped short of making any long-term predictions on the trajectory of prices, given the changing nature of political and economic conditions.

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