4 new discussion seminars in the framework of "citizen's voice"

Depriving citizens of basic services is a violation of the social contract

 

16/08/2009

 

Why are the executive bodies in Egypt insists on the expulsion of citizens from their mercy and overthrow them from its accounts? Why turn a deaf ear to hear their repeated complaints and close their eyes so as not to see areas of the wound and disease in the their communities bodies which has been neglected and forgotten?

 

These questions remain still in our memory after each panel discussion with the citizens in the framework of the project "citizen's voice" Because the problems that we hear and live with and in every region of the project all the problems related to basic services, which are the necessities of life which no human being can live without it, and thus deprivation from it is a strong violation to human rights and an attack on the principle of citizenship and a clear and flagrant violation of the social contract between the citizen and his government.

"Maat" held lately 4 new discussion seminars with citizens, where the first seminar was held in Asfon village in Qena on Wednesday, August 12, 2009 in coordination with key of life association in Armant, the second workshop was held on Thursday, August 13 in Kamarona Village in Al-Sharqia Governorate in coordination with El-Mashreq foundation for development and population, the third workshop was held on Saturday, August 15, 2009 in Kerdasa city in coordination with Adala foundation and Around the world foundation for development and on the same day was held the fourth in Masged mousa village in Atfaih in coordination with the "Her Majesty's" Foundation.

 

The seminars are under the project "citizen's voice" which is developmental and juridical which implemented by "Maat" in collaboration with the Foundation for the Future (FFF) in a number of governorates and in coordination with the civil institution in each governorate, the project aims to build a mechanism for communication between citizens and members of local popular councils elected and raising the efficiency and effectiveness of response of the members of the local people's councils, and the development of effective means to identify the needs of citizens and raising their awareness of the work of local people's councils and its terms of reference and how to communicate with its members.

 

Activities of the seminars designed to raise public awareness of the work of local people's councils and raise their ability to assess the work of elected members who represent them on these boards, also designed to monitor the local problems and the urgent needs of the citizens and how board members interact with the People's citizens in the solution of these problems, as well as the dissemination of concepts and culture of decentralization and good local governance and popular participation of citizens at the local level And prepare them to deal with the variables associated with the empowerment of localities.

 

Seminars have revealed a range of pressing problems of citizens in the areas held by these seminars, in Asfon village for example the citizens suffer from the contamination of drinking water coming to them from a nearby village despite the availability of a well in the village have been met the required health requirements, in addition to pollution of water the transfer of water from a far place from the village leads to a severe shortage in its quantity, the second problem is the presence of only one oven for bread although it is a village with a high population density.

 

In Kamaroona village in El-Sharqia governorate the people suffer from the lack of a network of sanitation in the village and the Youth of the village complained of the lack of a youth center and having to go to the villages adjacent to the practice of sport or fully stopping to practice it, and this solution carries with it the seeds of all the possible deviation in the community and the other problems raised by citizens in Kamaroona village is the problem of lack of sanitation services and the accumulation of garbage on the streets of the village, the people took parts of their incomes and have cooperated with the NGOs, to provide the service of cleaning in the village by self-efforts but it was beyond the capacity and capability of citizens and the association and it was destined for it to be stopped.

 

In Kerdasa has been the problem of transportation is the most public debate on the table of the seminar, as there are no lines for the public transport agency which transport citizens to the major areas in Cairo and Giza, which leads people to incur the high costs per day for the transition to their work headquarters, not to mention the extent of overcrowding and ill-treatment and by the intransigence of the drivers in addition, some told about the problem of the lack of civil registry place, and center for the national number identification cards in Kerdasa although the presence of 80000 thousand people in it, Some participants also spoke about the intransigence of the executive officials in Kerdasa with them in the exercise of their free and simple works.

 

In the village Mousa mosque in Atfaih there were two environmental disasters waiting for us, the first is the mixing of sewage and industrial with drinking water which led to high levels of pollution in water and increasing the proportion of salt in addition to the high water level of the village land and the collapse of a large number of houses (36 house) because of that. The second environmental disaster is the air pollution from burning waste plastic and leather and use it as a fuel in the deployed primitive pottery industries in the village.

 

Thus, it is clear through the presentation of the problems experienced by local communities in Egypt and presented in seminars in the framework of citizen's voice project that the executive bodies through its neglect of these problems committed a violation of human and social development of citizens and contrary to what the texts of international conventions and the Constitution of Egypt.