Egypt's parliament on Tuesday approved the state budget for the financial year that begins on July 1, with expenditure rising by 15% and the deficit by 14.5%.
The budget reflects the government's desire to continue Egypt's development and improve the lives of its citizens despite recent economic shocks, Minister of Finance Mohamed al-Maait told parliament.
Some members of parliament expressed concern that productive sectors such as industry and agriculture were being neglected and that the deficit should be reduced.
"People do not feel an improvement in their income," privately owned Al-Shorouk quoted lawmaker Mostafa Bakry as saying.
"The street is in one hand, and the government is in another … the middle class has been eroded and the poor have been crushed."
Spending will climb to 2.07 trillion Egyptian pounds ($111 billion) in 2022/23 from 1.79 trillion pounds this year, while the deficit will increase to 558.2 billion pounds from 487.7 billion.
The 2022/23 deficit is forecast to edge down to 6.1% of gross domestic product from this year's 6.2%.
