Former presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq voiced his displeasure Monday night in a televised call to the ‘Hena Ala’asema’ show with President Mohamed Morsy’s leadership, saying Egyptians are “living in a state of terror.”
The ex-prime minister noted while he fully respected the voting public’s decision to elect Morsy – and that “one person was the captain of the ship”- this was not the way things should be run.
He went on to criticise the running of the government as “abnormal,” and that “every square metre has problems.” Shafiq was specifically worried about strain put on former interim Prime Minister Kamal El-Ganzoury’s government by Morsy’s 100 day programme, the Al-Nadha or Renaissance Project.
Shafiq is not the only questioning voice when it comes to Al-Nahda. The ambitious project, proposed by President Morsy, vowed to address and remedy several key issues, like traffic, security, fuel and garbage. The project has garnered much attention, both hopeful and sceptical.
“He hasn’t got much time left. The time that has gone by has not been well-spent and we are facing more and more shortages. If he fails, he loses all credibility,” said Tarek Khouly, official spokesperson of the April 6th Youth Movement, who backed Morsy in his final push for the presidency. “What he needs to do is look at the goals he set and make them more reasonable to accomplish in this time. I don’t think he can do what he currently wants to in this amount of time.”
One product of the scrutiny is the MorsiMeter website, a website that details all 64 promises the president has made, their status (complete or incomplete) as well as a ticking 100-day clock. The promises are broadly divided into five categories- security, traffic, bread, cleanliness and fuel- and then list specific goals under each heading.
In keeping with the revolutionary theme of peace and bread, the promises are heavily concerned with security, such as implementing incentives tied to police performance and the restoration of security and stability, and food, such as government subsidisation of large bakeries or standardising bread quality.
These are the issues that have become the top priority for Egyptians since political vacuum and economic strain of the uprising has prolonged for more than a year.
Other crises Morsy seeks to address are fuel shortages- as queues outside gas stations grow ever longer- hygiene and trash disposal, and solutions to Cairo’s ever-present traffic problem.
The progress bar on the website today stands at exactly zero promises fulfilled, while Morsy has used 25 days, a quarter of his allotted time.
As more time passes without definitive action being taken, disbelief runs higher and higher. Observers point to insufficiency of funds, pressing foreign policy issues and a simple lack of time as obstacles standing in the way of the project’s completion.
