Integrating the informal economy

A 46-page study prepared by Senator and leading businessman Ahmed Abu Hashima has highlighted the need to integrate the informal economy, reports Gamal Essam El-Din.

“The longer the informal economy remains without official regulation, the greater the losses to the national economy and local industries,” said the report.

The study noted that in April 2021 the government had vowed to integrate the informal economy as part of its long-term structural reform programme.

“The process should aim to raise economic growth rates, reinforce the role of the private sector in generating jobs, contain inflation, narrow the budget deficit, and shore up FX reserves,” said the study. It added that although the government had announced plans for the informal economy to be fully integrated by the end of a three-year period (starting in FY 2020-21), nothing concrete has been achieved.

Addressing the senate on Monday, Abu Hashima said the study distinguished between the informal and the black economy. The latter includes illegal activities including the trade in drugs, arm smuggling, corruption, and money laundering.