Rising inflation is hurting Egypt’s economy. Will the country’s powerful military cede economic power to salvage it?

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• The prices of food and other basic commodities including housing and medical services have soared over the past few months as the country faces rising inflation. The inflation rate averaged 22 percent in December 2022—the highest rate the country has registered since 2017, according to the semi-official Ahram Online.

• The controversy over the provocative suggestion reached the parliament. At a public parliamentary session on January 3, MP Karim El-Sadat lambasted an official from the Ministry of Supplies who had spoken about the nutritional benefits of chicken legs on a television show, accusing the official of being “out of touch” with the reality of the current economic crisis.

• Sadat said. “We, as deputies, are left to face the wrath of citizens over soaring prices.”

• due to tax exemptions for the military, has cemented its economic power in the country in recent years.  From hotels, gas stations, car manufacturers, pharmaceuticals, and infrastructure projects to the provision of goods and services, the military has steadily increased its involvement in multiple sectors of the economy, generating substantial revenue for army coffers from businesses that are either directly owned and run by the officers or through contracts provided to military-affiliated companies, leaving the private sector out in the cold.

• romises aside, it will be difficult for Cairo to meet the IMF condition of pushing back the public sector and the military out of the economy. Despite President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s repeated promises to list public-owned firms on the stock exchange,” opening the door for private sector participation in state-owned enterprises,” there have been no real attempts to privatize military firms as of yet, indicating a possible pushback from within the military.

• herefore, key GCC countries have poured billions of dollars since the 2011 uprising—$92 billion to date, according to an unnamed official at the Central Bank—to stabilize the Egyptian economy and restore regional stability and security. Nevertheless, while the GCC bailouts have managed to stave off economic collapse in Egypt so far, they have fallen short of developing a sustainable economic system that can support Egypt in the long term.

• looking to buy state assets that Cairo is putting up for sale in order to bridge its financing gap. The country hopes to attract $40 billion worth of investments over the next four years to build up its foreign reserves and ease its foreign debt burden.