CAIRO: Prime Minister Kamal El-Ganzoury told the Islamist-majority parliament on Tuesday that justice for the January 25 uprising’s martyrs will not only be achieved through compensation or providing housing or a jobs for their families, but also through retribution and equal punishment for those responsible.
“Everyone must come together to achieve this and have those responsible penalized, not only for the blood, but for the embezzlement of land and public funds,” the premier said in his first speech to the recently seated People’s Assembly Tuesday.
He described the current economic conditions as “dire” due to the cumulative mismanagement over the past 10 years, pointing out that since 1999 when he left cabinet, national debt went up from LE 147 billion to LE 857 billion.
El-Ganzoury, who was prime minister under ousted president Hosni Mubarak from 1996-1999, recalled the injustices he suffered under the Mubarak regime, pointing out that of the120 ministers who left cabinet, he was the only one who never received official recognition for his achievements, such as banning construction on valuable agricultural land.
“The goal of the January 25 revolution is to achieve social justice,” he said. “This can happen through increased productivity.”
He stressed that he is not against peaceful demonstrations but that he cannot condone the actions of those who resort to blocking the railways.
He announced that the finance ministry will inject LE 2.5 billion into the budget for construction projects which create more than 90 jobs, in an effort to boost work opportunities.
He reiterated previous comments made in a press conference in December that Arab countries have not delivered on their pledges of financial support packages.
“They are refusing to help us, so from now on we’ll dependent on ourselves,” he said.
Minister of Interior Mohamed Ibrahim and Minister of Justice Adel Abdel-Hamid also addressed the parliament regarding their respecting portfolios.
Ibrahim said that Egypt has no political prisoners, a statement challenged by MPs in the following discussion. The minister said out of 23,000 convicts that fled prisons the past year, 4,500 remain at large.
