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                Egypt's Politics Move Ahead, Economy Lags Behind

   by Elizabeth Arrott

   ZAGAZIG, Egypt - Egyptian voters are making their final choices in the
   first post-revolution presidential election. Many Egyptians say the
   electoral process will not resolve the issue at the top of people's
   minds, however, and that is the sorry state of the economy.
   Egypt's revolution bears fruit this month with the nation's first
   widely-contested presidential election. But another force behind last
   year's uprising - economic discontent - has yet to be eased.
   For some, there is no end in sight. Mohamed Said Zaki is among the
   estimated 25 percent of Egypt's youth who are unemployed. He said he
   doesn't know where the country is headed. "We come out of one crisis to
   go into another."

   ''Rising prices unchecked
   At a market in the Delta town Zagazig, northeast of Cairo, business is
   tough for vegetable vendor Nagy el Din Osman. He said that after the
   revolution, prices soared and there was no monitoring or controls.

   ''Part of the problem is that in the chaos of the last year, black
   marketeers have made fortunes from subsidized goods. Zaki said average
   Egyptians now face shortages. He said he can't get such basic
   commodities as a loaf of bread or a canister of gas.
   It's not just individual Egyptians who are hurting. The nation's debts
   are mounting, foreign reserves are dropping, and every flare-up of
   political protest delays recovery in the key tourism industry.
   Western-oriented economists say the nation needs an injection of
   foreign cash to push through the crisis, but distrust of foreign powers
   runs deep. A survey earlier this year indicated a majority of Egyptians
   don't want U.S. help.
   Accusations of rampant corruption
   More to the point, say some, Egypt is rich enough on its own.
   Corruption, they argue, is the problem.
   Zaki said the country has lots of resources, but he argued they are not
   equally distributed.
   Most candidates have promised to stamp out the cronyism and favoritism
   that marked the economy under the old government. But their economic
   platforms, for the large part, remain generalities. And even for those
   with concrete plans, without a constitution it remains unclear how much
   power the next president will even wield.
   The promise of a better life under new leaders was one of the implicit
   promises of Egypt's revolution. Abdel Hamid Sayed, a retiree sitting in
   a Zagazig cafe, has heard a lifetime of promises.
   As he pointed to the waiters and the patrons nearby, he said all that
   was needed is that these poor people could make a living. That's all we
   need, he added, from the president or anyone.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/egypt_politics_economy_problems/66637
   7.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/egypt_politics_economy_problems/666377.html