|
Egypt ARMED FORCES PRODUCTION
Production of Civilian Goods
Beginning in 1978 the armed forces launched a number of
enterprises that produced goods for military and civilian use. The
National Service Project Organization (NSPO) controlled these
enterprises. The government set up the NSPO to help reorient the
military toward national economic development efforts as the
military's role in defense diminished after the 1979 peace treaty
with Israel. Moreover, government officials believed that national
security would be bolstered if the military achieved a degree of
self-sufficiency in food and other essential supplies.
Agriculture, the most important sector of military production,
accounted for ŁE488 million in production in FY 1985, the last year
for which data were available. The output of nonmilitary
manufactured goods amounted to ŁE347 million in FY 1985,
construction ŁE174 million, and other goods and services ŁE144
million. Military-operated facilities (including dairy and poultry
farms, fisheries, cattle feedlots, vegetable and fruit farms,
bakeries, and food-processing plants) accounted for 18 percent of
the nation's total food production in FY 1985. The military
consumed much of the food it produced, selling the surplus in
commissaries and through civilian commercial channels.
Military-operated manufacturing enterprises included factories
that produced clothing, doors, window frames, stationery,
pharmaceutical packages, and microscopes. Abu Ghazala planned to
develop a military-operated automobile assembly plant with
assistance from General Motors Corporation, but the government
shelved the idea because of widespread criticism on both economic
and political grounds.
The military was also involved in a number of infrastructure
projects. It installed more than 40 percent of the new telephone
links covered in the First Five-Year Plan (FY 1982-86). It
constructed power lines, sewers, bridges, and overpasses in Cairo
and elsewhere. It also participated in land reclamation projects.
Many career military officers disapproved of the military's
role in national economic development projects; they believed that
the armed forces should concentrate on the nation's security.
Others, however, believed the projects improved the military's
image and made the armed forces seem more efficient than the public
sector. Senior officers argued that these projects had no effect on
combat capabilities because the soldiers employed on them were not
physically qualified for normal military functions. The precise
number of troops detailed to economic development was not
disclosed, although observers have estimated that tens of thousands
of troops were so engaged. Food production employed 5,000 service
personnel, including about 500 officers, in 1986. In the same year,
Abu Ghazala announced that he would assign 30,000 conscripts to
newly created development regiments after they received special
training following basic training.
Opposition politicians and some business people complained that
the military competed with the private sector in the country's
development efforts. Critics argued that the private sector would
be at a disadvantage as long as the armed forces were exempt from
taxes, import licenses, and business permits and were not held
accountable for profits or losses. Some business people, however,
liked the military's growing role in the economy because many of
them were awarded lucrative contracts from the military for a
variety of goods and services.
Data as of December 1990
|
