Unrest continues in Egypt and the North African country has a new threat that could soon turn into a reality. The US has threatened to cut off aid to Egypt – totaling $1.5 billion mostly going toward the military – claiming that a stronger move into a democratic system was not being pursued while human rights violations continue. The US has been discussing for a couple of years dwindling down its military aid to the country, feeling that the Egyptian army should be well equipped and trained at this point. Currently, the many of the US military personnel present are finishing their tours and leaving for another post without any sign of replacing the position.
Egypt has retaliated by placing on trial 19 Americans and 24 other employees of nonprofit groups on accusations that they illegally used foreign funds to further the unrest in the country. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has taken interim control of Egypt until a president is elected. Elections will reportedly take place before June 30 although the country has seen countless delays in all elections including Shoura Council and Parliament. The ruling military body has claimed that the US, being a close ally of former president Hosni Mubarak, is orchestrating the civil unrest that continues to plague the country.
On February 1, 74 Egyptians were killed after violence occurred as a result of a soccer match between the country’s two rival teams in Port Said. FIFA will take steps to reinstate Egypt’s Football Association which was suspended as result of the deadly clashes. Only four days later anti-government protestors torched Egypt’s tax authority building in Cairo.
Crime in Cairo and Egypt as a whole has seen a spike since the revolution; however, incidents have grown in just over a week including the hold up of an armored truck and an HSBC bank. The blame game continues to be the main tool of the ruling military council, even hurting Egypt-based investment bank EFG Hermes. The financier’s chairman Yasser el-Mallawany has been placed on travel ban which will probably lead to a criminal investigation.
And yet the country remains hopeful that it will recover its pre-revolution levels of tourism. Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism undersecretary Samy Mahmoud told Reuters: “By the end of 2012, we expect between 12 to 13 million tourists. The contribution to the economy will be around $11 billion.” He said that despite the recent clashes, the “future of tourism in Egypt will be great.” However, with the kidnapping in the Sinai of 25 foreign workers by Bedouins and reports of child kidnapping for ransom throughout Egypt, Mahmoud’s optimism seems delusional.
Egypt’s energy sector could also take a hit. Its natural gas pipeline to Israel and Jordan was once again attacked on February 5, marking the 12th time the pipeline has been hit since the ousting of Mubarak. For renewable energy, projects have also faced difficulties. The New Nile Co., a collaboration of Houston-based Energy Allied International, the Seawater Foundation, and Global Seawater, Inc., had plans for a project that implemented biofuels, aquaculture, and agriculture utilizing non-agricultural grade land and untreated seawater. Energy Allied’s regional VP Tamer Nassar told Alternative Energy Africa that the company had submitted a proposal for land to the Ministry of Agriculture in April 2011. He said, “As you might imagine, land allocation is challenging under the present circumstances with everyone’s attention spread thin on multiple competing priorities.”
Energy Allied Egypt had received a $238,000 grant from the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) for a feasibility study to establish large-scale biodigester operations. It will be interesting to see if such grants will continue to flow into the country with the political tension continuing to increase between Egypt and the US.
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