Supply Ministry reveals: No beneficiaries are excluded from ration cards

CAIRO – 3 December 2018: Ahmed Kamal, Associate of Minister of Supply and Internal Trade and Ministry`s spokesman, asked citizens who had their names eliminated from the ration cards, to submit the “service’s activation” application, on which they will write the data of all the family members who should be enlisted on the card and attach their ID photos.

The spokesperson assured the public that within two weeks, three at most, all the beneficiaries will be enrolled again, as long they are enlisted on the data base.

Kamal affirmed that the Ministry urged people to re-activate their cards for more than 3 months, starting from August up till November 7, adding that commercials were made to aware people that they need to activate their data. Additionally, the slogan “Activation Data” was printed on ration stamps for bread and other subsidized commodities.

“Updating the databases revealed the existence of dead people, or people who travelled abroad on the ration card lists. There were also repeated names enrolled in the data base. Thus, the Ministry urged people to re-activate their ration cards to avoid any manipulation,” Kamal said in a statement to Egypt today.

“We are working on having a real data base to ensure that subsidies are given to those who need them.”

In the same regard, Minister of Supplies and Internal Trade Ali al-Muselhi opened up the appeal gates for those wishing to challenge the removal decision, assuring that any citizen who has a right will regain their rights within two to three weeks at most.

What sort of products does the ministry provide to beneficiaries?

In similar vein, Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade provides about 20 items on ration cards at prices lower than those in normal markets. The products are disbursed to cardholders within the LE 50 limit per person.

Currently, there are 70 million beneficiaries.

Of course, prices vary between products but one thing remains true: Prices are cheaper in subsidized markets than in normal ones. For example, the price of a one-kilo packet of lentils stands at LE 16, instead of LE 20-22; rice stands at LE 6.5, instead of LE 8-10; and, the kilo of flour is sold for LE 6, instead of LE 7-8.

A 400-gram bag of pasta is also sold at a price of LE 3.25, instead of LE 4-4.5; beans stand at LE 7, instead of LE 10-12; sunflower oil is sold for LE 20, instead of LE 23-24; the package of tomato sauce (300 grams) goes for LE 4.75 on the card, instead of LE 5 to 5.5; and, dry milk goes for LE 17, instead of LE 18-20.

Overall, all commodities see at least a 10 percent cut on the card; cuts go up to 30 percent sometimes.

Additional reporting: Lolwa Reda