EGYPTHUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT2005 EGYPTHUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT2005 ChoosingourFuture: TowardsaNewSocialContract The Egypt Human Development Report 2005 is the major output of the Human Development Project, executed by the Institute of National Planning, Egypt, under the project document EGY/01/006 of technical cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Design, layout and cover Joanne Cunningham Picture Credits A special debt of thanks to Galen Frysinger for 18 photos on Egypt taken from his website <www.galenfrysinger.com>. Our thanks are also extended to the Social Research Center at the American University in Cairo, to freelance photographer Raymond Colette, and to Mona Yassin of the Al Masri al Yom newspaper. Printed by Virgin Graphics Copyright 2005, United Nations Development Programme, and The Institute of National Planning, Egypt. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission or reference to this source. Local: 2005/21934 ISBN: 977-5023-06-8 Acknowledgements Director and lead author Heba Handoussa Advisory group Mahmoud El Sherif Rafik Honsny Mona El Baradei Authors CHAPTER ONE Heba Handoussa CHAPTER TWO Sahar Tawila Khaled Abdel Kader Somaya Ibrahim CHAPTER THREE Hania Sholkamy Maged Osman Osama Al Ghazali Harb CHAPTER FOUR Malak Zaalouk Inas Hegazy Marwa Salem Maha El Adawy Moushira El Shafei Hania Sholkamy CHAPTER FIVE Hana Kheir el Din Sherine Shawarby Amina Ghanem Ahmed Kamaly Ahmed Ghoneim CHAPTER SIX Heba Handoussa Maged Osman Saad Nassar Alia El Mahdi Ahmed Ghoneim Zakaria El Haddad Abeer Shinnawy CHAPTER SEVEN Hatem Karanshawi Sherif Hashem Hussein Amin Mustafa Madbouly Ahmed Ghoneim CHAPTER EIGHT Sultan Abu Ali Abu Zeid Rageh Ezzat Abdel Hamid Ahmed El-Kholi CHAPTER NINE Khaled Abu Zeid Zakaria El Haddad M. Abdelatif A. Bakr Habiba Wassef Reinhardt Honert INP Zinat Tobala Magda Ibrahim Hoda El Nemr Contributors Azza El-Fandari Abdelhamid Kassas Nivine Kamel Editor and Gillian Potter advisor Readers Osman M Osman Antonio Vigilante Mohamed El Kassas Ibrahim Saad El Din Ziad Bahaa Eldin Ahmed Galal Ahmed Sakr Ashour M Fathy Sakr Amany Nakhla Research and Nadia Abdel Azim Mohamed Bayoumi Laila Kamal coordination Yasmine Amer Yasmine El Shafei Laila Said Burhan Gailani Arabic Nadia Abdel Azim, (leader & editor) translators Samir Korayem Mohamed Ghazal Hosny Tamman Special thanks Our thanks go to the Third World Forum for making available all published and unpublished volumes on the MISR 2020 Vision. Thanks are also due to Mrs. Yousreya Sawiris and the Association of the Protection of the Environment for making available data on solid waste recycling. v Preface The Egypt Human Development Report 2005 is a bold attempt to project a vision for the Egypt of tomorrow, and to propose concrete ways and means by which this vision can be achieved. President Hosni Mubarak has already announced a 10 point pro- gram for the coming six years that is designed to modernize organizational struc- tures, reform the judicial system, update laws, promote political participation, sim- plify procedures and implement new training programs, as well as reduce unemploy- ment and regional disparities in basic public service provision and improve overall healthcare services, with health insurance for all socioeconomic groups. The message of the EHDR 2005 is that Egypt can no longer afford a 'business as usual' approach to the many daunting challenges we face over the next few years. The report argues that the time is indeed right to review our options and to imple- ment new measures to enhance human security, growth and development. A per- ception that a new 'social contract' is needed, which better articulates the concepts of citizen rights and citizen obligations is becoming increasingly evident. It assumes that reform is a shared task that will succeed only if all citizens take part in the process, and if the state empowers its citizens in an increasingly competitive and rap- idly globalizing world. This report is therefore in harmony with government plans for the future of Egypt, and builds on concepts and ideals that are currently and actively debated. As with previous national Human Development Reports, an in-depth analysis is conducted of national and disaggregated regional measures of welfare. While Human Development indicators at the national level have shown steady progress, the EHDR 2005 proposes means by which more is accomplished at the disaggregated and regional levels, espe- cially in rural areas. The report also incorporates and frequently proposes to go beyond the achievement of the targets of the Millennium Development Goals. International best practice shows that efficient social services and utilities are an entry point to raised living standards and social mobility, particularly for the poor, and that this, in turn, promotes higher levels of human development, greater labour pro- ductivity and increased economic growth. But the cost burden of a universal welfare regime in Egypt is fiscally unsustainable without private sector participation in invest- ment, employment and exports, as well as in the provision of public services. Cost- saving through alliances with the private sector, decentralization of authority and fiscal responsibility, and incentives for increased political and social participation are suggested, so that citizens engage more actively in improving their own conditions. The report's vision proposes a bottom-up set of policies, which, rather than privi- leging specific groups, targets those under-serviced segments of society that can also vii be considered the nation’s underutilized pool of human talent and productivity. This is expected to improve the quality of life of the underprivileged, to reinvigorate and expand productive activities and to raise real incomes in a sustainable virtuous circle. It suggests that the demographic transition can be viewed as a window of opportu- nity if human capacity is raised, and if new employment opportunities are generated in a number of growth sectors, so that the highest proportion of the population is able to work and therefore pay — directly and indirectly — for quality isocial security and social services, including health and education. All of these ambitious goals and targets address issues that are, today, at the forefront of the Government of Egypt's concerns for the future, and dovetail with the national effort to address the aspirations of the citizens of Egypt. While some proposals in the report break new ground, others confirm current policy trends and complement the state's development plans for Egypt. As such, the report is a commendable example of cooperation between government and independent members of Egypt's intelligentsia to bring civil society participation to bear on national progress. Osman Mohamed Osman Minister of Planning, and Chairman of the Board, Institute of National Planning viii Foreword ‘Reform’ is a word that has become increasingly used in Egypt in the last year. Indeed a healthy debate is currently underway in the country on new policy directions needed to energize and boost the country's progress in the economic, social and political spheres. Concurrently, significant economic and political reforms are taking place. Reforms are better conceived and implemented when they are inserted in a shared long term vision able to show the strategic path that the country should follow in order to max- imize human development. Such a vision, however, should neither be a simple pro- jection nor an idealistic outlook on the country's future, but should represent a real- istic agenda for action. This is what the Egypt Human Development Report 2005 has tried to do, following up on last year’s report which proposed a comprehensive decentralization strategy. The independent team of authors, led by Professor Heba Handoussa, has managed to produce a rich and inspiring report, centered on the ambitious proposal of a new social contract for Egypt and based on convincing evidence and concrete analysis and costing. The report represents an invitation to reach a common and explicit under- standing in Egyptian society about the nature and scope of the required reforms. It is biased in favor of the segments of the population and the regions which have ben- efited less from the country's past and present achievements but it takes into account the necessary advancement of all Egyptian society. Its many recommendations are aimed at enabling Egypt to reach the millennium development goals by 2015, not only in terms of national average but also in every region of the country. As such, the report implicitly contains a national plan to achieve the MDGs, some- thing that every country has agreed to prepare by 2006. The report indicates a fea- sible path of equity and growth, within a process of deepened democracy, thus con- stituting not only food for thought for policy makers and authentic reformers, but a call to make clear policy choices supported by wide popular consensus. It presents an image of what Egypt could be in the coming years and how to realize that vision, in contrast to pursuing a ‘business as usual’ option. Therefore, our hope is that this Report will be seriously considered as a strategic framework for human development, able to enhance both people's capabilities and the state's capabilities in the quest to realize Egypt's full potential. Antonio Vigilante Resident Representative, United Nations Development Programme ix Preamble Egyptians have been dreaming of a better future, a future where quality services are at the reach of all citizens and where every household is protected with the security of gainful employment, health insurance, old age pensions and a comfortable and affordable home. This is the future depicted by the ‘vision’ which is presented in the Egypt Human Development Report for 2005 (EHDR 2005) and whose authors believe can be accomplished as early as 2015, the target date for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).