Abdel Aal: Eradicating Slums Was President Sisi's Priority

Hours before the 2020 senate elections, Al Ahram sat down with Dr. Ali Abdel Aal, speaker of the Egyptian house of representatives to discuss major issues currently occurring in Egypt. One of the questions Abdel Aal was asked was concerning the ever growing problems with slums in Egypt.

"Developing slum areas has been a major challenge, both socially and economically. The government has adopted a preventive policy; these areas have had negative social and health effects and upgrading them has therefore been essential," he stated.

"Creating a healthy and clean environment in the slums has been recognized and appreciated by the residents. Yet, once those areas are well-developed and renovated, there should be a harsh stance taken against violators, and a strict implementation of the law and regulations for a clean environment to maintain the people’s and the state’s efforts," Abdel Aal revealed.

The country’s leadership believes that the inpidual is the cornerstone of developmental efforts, and within this context several decisions were taken to eliminate these slum areas. When the government exerts such strenuous efforts to realise these dreams, strict measures should be in place to protect the new realities.

Citing what was known as the Maspero Triangle in Downtown Cairo, the decision to eradicate the slum area there should have been taken in 1968.

“There were a lot of plans to develop this area, but none were executed until recently, which was also the case with the Baron Palace in Heliopolis, which was recently turned from a deserted building into a touristic site,” he said.

"Government officials must therefore shoulder these huge responsibilities," the speaker said, adding that there is now no place for officials who are incapable of translating the people’s dreams into realities.