A call to Egypt's transport minister for a modern political discourse
This clearly implies that no one can dismiss him, regardless of any mistakes made within his ministry. It's not that anyone wishes the man out of the ministry, or dislikes him. Rather, we want to see things set right in the ministry and prevent a recurrence of incidents like the Monufiya tragedy, which was blamed on the road needing maintenance and supposedly requiring LE50 billion.
The question then becomes – where will all this money come from, especially when you were the reason for increasing the state's burden with loans and debts?
Is it even conceivable that a road built from scratch for ten billion pounds would cost fifty billion pounds to maintain?
Mr. Minister, I want to address you and the government about the nature of the political discourse the government uses with the people. Unfortunately, it's a discourse that needs review, careful precision, and a sense of responsibility.
In other contexts, ministers apologize to the public, admit responsibility, and submit their resignations. Some ministers in other countries even commit suicide out of a sense of responsibility and failure to perform their duties. I am not advocating for suicide, nor do I encourage it, but I at least support the idea of apologizing and not justifying mistakes and transgressions.
I also want to address Minister Mahmoud Fawzy, who expressed anger at a lawmaker's criticism of the government and demanded its removal from the parliamentary record.
I say to him: Mr. Minister, a lawmaker has the right to speak freely under the dome of parliament – that's what immunity is for. Your role in parliament is not to silence or threaten this lawmaker or any other. People haven't forgotten your old statement that 'the numbers are terrifying.'
If a lawmaker brings up that statement, would they be acting illogically or improperly?
The idea is to modernize political discourse to resonate with the new generation of Egyptians, who simply won't accept empty talk. It's crucial that you let people criticize, and important that you allow them to submit parliamentary requests.
Most importantly, you must listen to them.
Lawmakers aren't speaking in a vacuum; they're voicing the reality the people live every day, listening to the quiet suffering of the poor and ordinary citizens. All these trillions they keep hearing about haven't eased their pain or solved their problems.
A quick look at the homes in al-Sanabsa village, for instance, reveals the sheer scale of the poverty citizens endure—a tragedy so profound it forces underage girls to work just to help their families.
In short, the government doesn't feel the suffering of its people. It needs to come down and live among the people in the country it governs. It's simply unacceptable for a government to rule over Egypt's people, claim it's working for them, and declare that alleviating their burdens is its priority, all while seemingly being so out of touch with their lived reality.
About the author:
A seasoned journalist since 1991, Mohamed Amin has contributed to numerous publications, including Al-Naba newspaper, and served as a correspondent for Agence France-Presse (AFP).
His career trajectory includes several prominent editorial roles, culminating in his appointment as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper in 2016.
He has also held the position of Editor-in-Chief for the Cairo-based October Magazine in July 2017.
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