Egypt Raises Fuel Prices by up to 78 Per Cent

A copy of the order to more than double the cost of fuel in Egypt. Photo source: Ahmed Kheir on Twitter

A copy of the order to more than double the cost of fuel in Egypt. Photo source: @AhmedKheir on Twitter

Egyptian netizens are fuming over a price hike in fuel prices, which they say will lead to an increase in transportation, food and services costs.

According to Ahmed Kheir, a Twitter user from Cairo, who has 2,200 followers:

92 Octane gasoline, up by 40 per cent
80 Octane gasoline, up by 78pc
Diesel, used by microbuses and transportation, up by 63pc
95 Octane gasoline, used by the richest segment in society, up by 7pc #social_justice

Those figures are echoed in this Reuters report, which states that the prices have been increased as the Egyptian government “tries to cut energy subsidies to ease the burden on its swelling budget deficit.”

In another tweet, Kheir notes:

They have increased the price of fuel by more than half, in the absence of a Parliament. They took the decision in secret on a day off. All these actions are that of thieves.

Peter Ramez, who has 500 followers on Twitter, blames Egypt's new president Abdelfattah El Sisi, for the increase, saying:

A more than 40pc increase in gasoline prices you infidels?
May God's justice be met on you. You deserve all the curses you will get

And Ahmed Fathi El Badry adds:

Do you think that people's love for you will mean anything after this decision? This is truly a political and social suicide

Others have taken to humour to express their frustration. Shay Sokar Bara, a pseudonym with around 83,000 followers, says:

I did not rebel against [former president Mohamed] Morsi for the subsidies to be lifted or for the electricity to be cut or to donate [my money to the government]. I don't have anything and I don't want to go to jail if I say no

In another tweet, he notes:

Egyptians are lined up at petrol stations and everyone is saying they will fill up their tanks before gasoline prices go up. We are a smart nation. It is as if the fuel in their tanks will never finish

And Hesham Mansour jokes:

The increase in gasoline prices is a tactical increase. After increasing the prices of fuel and electricity, the government wants to guarantee that citizens will not find any money to set themselves on fire

This tweet brings back to our memories the spark which ignited the Arab revolutions, in December 2010, when Tunisian fruit vendor Mohammed Bouazizi set himself on fire.

Meanwhile, this video from Mansoura shows long queues of cars at a petrol station, which had run out of gasoline:

What does the future hold for Egyptians?

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