Who will protect our resources from being wasted

The president of the republic
 
Who will protect our resources from being wasted and looted ?
Corruption in Egypt is a crime that requires your intervention !!
Lands estimated at 150 million pounds sold at one million pounds.



The Land Center for Human Rights (LCHR) received complaints from some of the citizens of the city of  Edko, and some members of the local council of Edko, Beheira governorate, complaining about some recently issued decisions, which are thought to be corrupt, which resulted from selling 150 square meters of land, of an estimated price of 1000 pounds per square meter, at a price of no more than seven pounds per square meter. Which means that the land, valued at 150 million pounds, was sold at one million pounds only.


The story goes back, as the complaints say to the “request of the local unit of the city of Edko to allocate 1800 acres to be used as a tourist area in Edko, in addition to 2000 acres to be used as a housing area. The Higher Committee for Land Valuation held a meeting on 9 / 10 / 1988 and determined the price of each area, at prices higher than the prices at which they were sold in 2006. On January 16, 1994 the local unit of  the city of Edko, allocated areas of land, through the local councils, to: The Zafrana Company, The Egyptian Company for Liquefied Gas, a youth camp, The International Road Ambulance Center, a social club for the people of Edko, and an open summer resort for the people of Beheira governorate, which is located in the area facing the residential block of the city, that is considered the sole outlet for the people of Beheira governorate on the Mediterranean coast.


This last piece of land, contains an anchorage of small fishing boats for more than ten thousand fishermen, who have no source of income other than the profession of fishing.
All the previous allocations were in the 1800 allocated acres for tourism, which were given to the local unit of the city of Edko by the General Authority for Agricultural Development under Law No. (7) of 1991.


The people of Edko mention that they were surprised by another decision, decision No. 2622519 for 2005, issued by the executive body of the General Authority for Tourism Development, for the sale of 150 thousand square meters of land, to the Edko Company for Investment in Tourism and Real Estate, on April 16, 2006, which the company claims to be the same area mentioned previously, allocated to be used as an open summer resort for the people of Beheira governorate, noticing that the decision of the local council of the governorate regarding the allocation of the aforementioned piece of land as an open summer resort, is previous to the decision of the General Authority for Tourism Development, to sell the land to the company at a price of about seven pounds per square meter, of which a 20% advancement will be paid, and the rest to be paid in installments, the first of which is to be dew in three years. And so the General Authority for Tourism Development has sold what it does not own , wasting public money and public property in the process. The area is the only outlet for the people of the Edko and  for the people of Beheira governorate on the Mediterranean coast, especially since most of the people of Beheira governorate are low-income people who can not go to expensive summer resorts.. There is also a social dimension to be taken into account by the government, as ten thousand fishermen and their families live on the profession of fishing from this beach, and have no other source of income,  … So where will they go?


The people of the city of Edko conclude their complainants by saying : ” corruption has spread among the majority of people. Some people have slipped in it , while others have kept their mouth shut, thus helping the corrupt ones to continue being corrupt. We addressed all the state officials, and our complaints were published in all the national, party, and independent newspapers. However, it seems that the squandering of our wealth and the violation of the rights of fishermen and the people of Edko, does not mean anything for the state officials. The people filed a lawsuit to cancel the invalid sale contract, which is still pending before the Council of State. The case has also been presented to the Office of the Attorney General.


The people of Edko proceed to say: “could there be more corruption  than that?? Virtue and the preservation of our resources from waste, are being assassinated and killed … The corruption prevails !! So who stands for us in Egypt, and who is going to restore the rights to their owners? !! who has a just solution for our cause? Who could safeguard the public interest and the rights of residents and fishermen in our country to decent livelihood? Who will fight corruption and stop greedy merchants, and restore the stolen rights of the poor?”


The LCHR puts these questions in front of the President of the Republic, hoping that he might find answers to them, to guarantee security, freedom and dignity to the citizens of our beloved country ?
 
For more information please contact the LCHR
 



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