CAIRO: Egypt will not allow shantytowns in the evacuated Mansheyet Nasser district off Nasr City to be rebuilt, Cairo Governor Abdel Azim Wazir told the press.
In an official statement, the governor indicated that he will no longer tolerate any violations in Cairo, threatening to take legal action against perpetrators.
The statement was released after the governor visited the area in Moqattam, next to Duweiqa, where a massive rockslide killed hundreds last year in the shantytown below.
Duweiqa is currently undergoing renovations and around 25 acres of the surrounding area were evacuated.
Wazir said the committee in charge of renovations in Duweiqa laid down 13 regulations to ensure safety in this area, six of which have already been implemented. Reports indicate that some of the residents were relocated to new buildings or different areas
MP Mahmoud Amer, member in the People’s Assembly’s security and national defense committee, told Daily News Egypt that the governorate should first determine if the land is privately owned or if it belongs to the state before it issues decisions like these, describing them as “haphazard.
From a legal perspective, Amer said, if the residents own the land and it is not safe, then the government should provide them with alternative housing before evacuating the area.
He explained however that if the land is state-owned, then the government is free to do whatever it sees best.
According to Amer, Duweiqa was former Minister of Housing Ibrahim Soliman’s constituency, and he provided its residents with electricity and water, which legitimizes their residence there.
Duweiqa first experienced a rockslide in 1994 before the massive boulders slid off the edge of Moqattam last year. Amer said that the government consequently “issued some decisions that were never implemented.
“What did the governor of Cairo do since last year’s rockslide? Where was he during that whole year? Amer asked.
