Egypt: It Works

Egypt has so many civil servants that U.S. consultants have recommended firing 60% of them in order to relieve the bureaucratic jam. Egypt's poorly maintained air, rail and road transport systems are in a sorry state. Such basics as rice, matches and meat are scarce. The cotton crop, afflicted by a bollworm plague this year, is in hock to Soviet-bloc countries to pay for the delivery of factories, which the Egyptians manage inefficiently. In fact, there is only one thing that really works in Egypt—the Suez Canal. Because its foreign-exchange earnings are vital, the canal has been given...

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