Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said Tuesday he will donate half of his personal wealth and half of his salary to help the country's crippling economy, the improvement of which he said requires sacrifices from all Egyptians, according to The Associated Press.
To set an example, el-Sissi said he will donate half of his personal wealth and half of his salary to the country, the AP reported. The monthly salary for the president is set at $6,000.
"This is too much for me. I am telling you I will do two things. I will only take half of this salary," he said, according to the AP. "There is something else I can do. I will give up half of what I own, included what I inherited from my father, for the sake of the country."
El-Sissi appealed to wealthy Egyptians to do same, saying a bank account he would oversee would go to help Egypt's myriads of problems, the AP reported.
El-Sissi also said he asked the government to amend a newly drafted budget, the largest in Egypt's history at $115 billion, because it had a deficit he said was unacceptable, the AP reported. The draft budget kept Egypt's budget deficit hovering around 12 percent.
The budget had large sums dedicated to state subsidies on food and energy, as well as spending on pensions and social spending, according to the AP. El-Sissi said he asked his government to amend it, but didn't specify what will be changed.
El-Sissi said tough measures will have to be taken to address the deficit and other economic challenges, the AP reported.
Tourism revenues, a main foreign cash earner, have fallen drastically because of Egypt's political unrest, according to the AP.
"I found the deficit increasing, bringing our debts up to ($282 billion) only because this is the budget that won't stir public opinion," El-Sissi said, the AP reported. "I couldn't approve it. ... How long can we continue to avoid confronting our challenges and problems?"
