by Ahmed Fouda
I believe that one of the first priorities of the new cabinet headed by Eng. Sherif Ismail right after the parliamentary elections is upgrading Egyptians’ standard of living, while giving priority to the neediest segments.
Upon mentioning the neediest among us, bread comes to our mind right away. Bread is the main and sometimes the only item that fulfills the basic need for food for the lowest income groups. I realize that the Ministry of Supply is doing its best to import wheat from the various countries of the world that are known to provide a decent quality of wheat, and is striving to diversify its sources by importing from the US, Russia, Australia and others. It is worth noting that each of these countries’ wheat has a different taste and flavor.
The availability of bread is a matter of national security, and good nutritious bread that is baked under Ministry of Supply supervision is essential. However, at this point and with the current rate of violations in meeting standard specifications required for bread, we do need the intervention of the Ministries of Interior, Health and Justice.
Eng. Sherif Ismail, our new Prime Minister and his newly appointed Cabinet should place bread at the top of their list of priorities. After securing high quality bread that fulfils standard nutritious needs, the government should move on and focus on implementing the most needed large-scale projects, with the people’s blessings.
