47
Does this corruption and prejudice have an end?
The story of selling the remains of the Egyptian land and wealth
Land center had received hundreds of complaints and stories about acts of corruption took place in the department of endowment. Those complaints testify that agricultural lands, planted by farmers for tens of years, were sold to other departments; like organs of the governorates, while others were sold to some merchants, alleging that it was sold for the sake of establishing housing areas or building new factories. This selling transaction constitutes a trespass on the land of the people and their rights of having a source of food. Such rights and properties must be immunized from being breached by any government, because these rights and properties belong to the Egyptians and their next generations. What is the reasonable thinking that drives the Egyptian government to sell the agricultural lands to merchants who convert it to housing cells, then attempting to reclaim desert lands for being used in agriculture, which costs billions of pounds?? Who judge those officials for their crimes? As a sample of these complaints, we received a complaint from Menyet sandob village, in the town of Mansoura, in Dakahleya governorate, testifies the complicity and corruption of some officials in the endowment department, from one side, with the organization of construction and housing for the chancellors of state council in Dakahleya, from other side. The endowment department sold the organization many agrarian lands, which are considered as the main source of farming and income for more than 70 families. The chairman of the organization sent many alers to the farmers in order to evacuate their lands and hand it to the organization before or at 31st October 2009. These alerts constitute a direct warning to the farmers; they will be expelled out of their lands which they did seizure for more than 100 year and used to pay its rents for the endowment department permanently. Farmers mention that they offered the endowment department to buy the land with a price higher in 10 % than the price offered by the housing organization, however, the department rebuffed the offer, violating the law of the endowment department, which stated that in case of sale, endowment department must give priority to the person who seizure the land. For sorrow, the organization of housing chancellors of the state divided part of the area of the land; 9 feddans that are the best in quality, and offered them for sale as land for building with full conditions, even though farmers still plant rice, wheat and vegetables in the land.
The second complaint was sent by farmers of Kafr Mahrouk village, in the town of Kafr el-zayyat, in Kafr el-sheik governorate. In the village, there are 300 feddans of agrarian land which are high in quality, as they are highly fertile. Those lands were allocated for farmers tens of years ago, and it is considered as their sole source of living, guaranteeing income for families and protecting them from being homeless.
It is stated in complaints that governorate organs warned farmers to evacuate their lands in order to set up industrial zone on it. Therefore, Land center ponders, what reason could drive the government to barren the agrarian lands in order to establish factories upon it? Government can establish industrial zones on the vast desert, especially that reclaiming desert lands and making it available for agriculture costs billions of pounds, in addition it would never be as fertile as the land of the delta. The centre submitted an appeal before the state council in order to stop the execution of the governor's decision to set up industrial zones in Kafr El-Mahrouk village. The appeal, filed in number 10612, in the 16th judicial year, before the administrative court in Mansoura, asserted that governor's decision is void, and we must protect farmers' exploitation of the land, granted to them by the official departments of the state, and we must guarantee their right of safe agriculture.
The third complaints were sent by villagers from Kafr El-Sheik governorate. They said they rented nearly 400 feddans from endowment department, distributed among 1500 families in Matoubas and Borollus regions. They added that their lease contracts ends in 31st October, 2011, where each farmer had received a record of delivery attached with it a lease contract of five Feddans. According to these contracts, farmers are obliged to clean the canals and banks on their own expenses. They shall also protect and preserve the land. However, farmers were shocked when they knew that the land was sold to a person named "Ghanem El-Ashkary", despite they have the priority to buy the land because they have seizure on it for more than 50 years.
To make it worse, the security department in the town had called the farmers to press them to leave the land. As stated in the complaints, a brigadier from national security department, who heads Baltim police station, in Kafr El-Sheik governorate, kept calling them, and threatened to detain them in order to coerce them to sign statements testify that they will evacuate the land. The brigadier, also, arrested many of them, but the D.A. ordered to evacuate them, as D.A. found that farmers have the right to continue farming their lands. Farmers revealed in their complaints that there is an alliance between employees of the local department in Brollus from one side, and the person who alleges to own the property from the other side. Both of them spread rumors that tenants don't have the right to exploit the agricultural land. Means after, the head of the unite expelled tenants out of their lands, using equipments and tools from the Arabic company for reclaiming the lands, and private buses to expel farmers and destroy their crops. Those acts by the administrative quarters represent an abuse and a violation of the law.
For sorrow, officers of police station edited records by the head of the local department against the farmers, and hurled those farmers in prison for several days to force them to leave the land, where farmers were released by the D.A. after that, and declared to be innocent. Though, police officers arrested them for a second time, when another person edited another record against the farmers accusing them for assaulting him. The farmers submitted a report, number "2009/6647", before the attorney general. In the report, farmers accused chairman of the local department of abusing his powers to destroy their crops. They added, he keeps threatening to detain them. Governmental officials assured that the person who bought the land is a high official in the government, that's why farmers are always hurled in jails, even after being released. This was the reason for the Land Center to file a complaint to the minister of justice, and the president to urge them to intervene, and stop arresting and abusing farmers of Kafr El-Sheik. Also, the center asked them to prosecute officials, responsible for such violations and breaches.
There are tens of stories and complaints sent to the centre, stating similar and repeated scenarios of corruption and abuse of the endowment department, showing how the department violated farmers' rights.
Land center is not surprised by the repeated complaints in the current time. Endowment department, like other governmental departments, seeks the highest amounts of profits, applying the free capital market policy adopted by the government. Therefore, for those departments, selling agricultural land is better than its cultivation, because departments will gain higher profits by selling lands. In addition, officials of endowment department, like officials of all other governmental departments, believe that they have the right to earn from their jobs under terms of tips, allowances, and other expressions that became applicable in governmental departments. Unfortunately, this logic is applicable, and became a rule in the work in governmental entities, in spite of breaching the law. This principle in the work of the governmental entities led to the waste of land and soil resources, agriculture, displacement of thousands of families, and denying them the sole opportunity to work. All the aforementioned led to the deterioration of their incomes; nearly 30 million Egyptians earn less than 1 dollar per day, where 90% of them live in the rural areas. We are surprised by the rudeness and bluntness of the government; it keeps saying through its channels in the last conference that agriculture is protected and farmers' rights are supported.
The centre urges officials, before it becomes useless, to confront the outbreak of the corruption in the organs of endowment department, and other governmental departments that manage resources of agricultural lands. The centre urges, also, to take efficient measures to protect Egyptian sources of income, and food, and to guarantees farmers' rights of agriculture and decent life.
For more information, please contact the Center