What Egypt Needs

We need to go over the cultural hump we got used to...that we don't work awaiting for a miracle or someone else to take care of us. This got to change. Neither America nor Saudi Arabia will give us charity. And even when they give, it will be limited in scope and duration. You can't really expect to live off charity for life, can you? Friends or brothers will help for sometime but we have to rely on our heads, our resources, and ourselves. When you get money all the time and you don't earn it, then there is something that you will eventually be asked to do. If there is nothing in exchange, you have to get suspicious because the bill is just accumulating and you may just end up giving up all your assets. By the way, that is not to say that everybody is our enemy. To the contrary, you always want to have friends and you always exchange benefits with friends and brothers but always calculate your benefits and your costs.

US Fighters Jets Flying Over Egypt. The United States Gives Egypt $2B in Aid Every Year. A Recent Report by the US Government Accounting Office Cites Overflight and Suez Canal Passage Rights that United States Gets from Egypt in Support of Operations in Afganistan and the Gulf as the Primary Return to the US from its Aid to Egypt.

Even more unrealistic is pinning our hopes for the coming back of the true Islamic Caliphate. First, let us face it as it is: it is a lame excuse not to work until the coming back of the caliphate. Second, there is nothing in Islam that I know of that prescribes a specific political system or mandates that all Muslims must be under the same government. Even if that is the form of government we should all aspire to, this is an absolutism that we can't just wait by the sidelines until it happens, can we?

We are also spending too much time on discussions like whose religion is more true or whose religion is more proven by science. I simply don't understand how that will improve the standard of living of people. Please just keep your faith because it is great and we need it and there is absolutely nothing like a strong faith but just simply move on to how we can improve ourselves.

India Featured on Cover of Time Magazine on June 26, 2006. Indian Enterpreneurs Are Applying Western Practices in India and Promising to Transform India to A Roaring Asian Tiger. India is Also the Largest Democracy in the World and Freedom of Speed and Expression is Unprecedented. Presidents and Prime Ministers are Changed in India through the Electoral Process...For Real. It is A Country that is Also Poorer and Less Developed than Egypt and with Even Worse Sectarian Tension and Religious Fundamentalism...All are Excuses Cited for Gradual introduction of Reform.

We need entrepreneurs who can go and establish businesses and compete to win on a global scale. Egypt's competition is not local any more. Even in the Arab World which used to be an exclusive territory for Egyptian professionals, they now get Brits, Americans, Indians, and whoever is qualified and the competition is global and it is intense.

We need strategists who understand how the world economies work and how to find a niche for Egypt to leverage its strength.

We need fairness and justice for all: Muslim and Christian, all are welcome to contribute and compete as one team. This whole business of writing somebody's religion in an identity card constitute finding ways to divide not unite. Government jobs should be given anonymously. We are small on the world scene and cannot afford to divide our efforts.

Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif Speaking at Davos. Dr. Nazif Spoke of "Gradual" Introduction of Reform in Egypt at the MENA Davos Held in Sharm Al-Shaikh. He Said that Egypt is in "No Rush" for Reform.

We need to do all the above quickly because there is no time and the world is moving fast around us. In my experience, every time someone says that we got to do the right thing slowly because of this or that, it is just a lame excuse for not wanting to do it.

Therefore, we need to establish the following rules:

1- Fairness: Everybody deserves a chance under the rule of law that creates fairness for everybody.

2- Dignity: Nobody will be denied his or her dignity.

3- Candor: Real problems will be faced. No time will be wasted on useless discussion that don’t raise people’s standard of living.

4- New Ideas: We need to open up everything for new ideas and for candid discussions.

5- Efficiency: Resources will be allocated to where the biggest impact on standard of living is.

In a US Style Campaign, President Mubarak Promised Multi-Million Jobs and Houses. Is This Really the Role of the Egyptian Government?

The Egyptian government thinks its role is to feed, house, marry, and find jobs for its people. This was Mohammad Ali wanting to centralize all powers in his hands and take power away from the local Mamluks. By promising the creation of multi-million jobs and houses, President Mubarak is stretching himself and the government too thin by his "campaign program."

The Egyptian government will be thankful if it creates a culture of fairness, candor, dignity, and opening the economy to new ideas. You don't start with changing policies, you have to start with correcting the culture. US style campaign promises about creating policies that will create jobs don't really apply to Egypt. The US has already the right business and work culture. In Egypt, you have to start with the culture first to correct the systemic problems.

Give the Egyptian people a chance, give them hope, and give them freedom. ... you will be surprised at the results.