(Photo by Amir Mamduh)
Succumbing to the demands of month-long sit-in, Aswan Governor Mustafa Al-Sayed formally submitted his resignation to the president on Tuesday.
At the time of writing Morsy had not officially responded to the resignation.
“Al-Sayed has submitted his resignation at least six times,” Al-Amir Mamdouh, one of the leading sit-in participants, said, “our sit-in shall continue until [the resignation] is accepted.”
The last time Al-Sayed submitted his resignation, it was denied by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the former -head of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces.
Al-Sayed has released a written statement saying that his resignation is an attempt to bring new blood into the administrative system.
“He was definitely going to be dismissed from his position regardless of his resignation,” Mounir Beshir, head of the of the Nubian Lawyers’ Association, said, “he just submitted the resignation to save face.”
The Nubians make up a big part of the sit-in members.
“We don’t believe Al-Sayed is serious about his resignation,” Mamdouh said, “especially since the reasons he gave are very tacky; they fit the profile of a remnant of the old regime.”
Should the resignation be accepted, Beshir said the protesters won’t leave it at that.
“The resignation alone is not enough,” Beshir said, “we will prosecute him. Any official who leaves his office is followed by a flood of prosecutions.”
Over 60 lawsuits have been filed against the governor since he took office according to lawyer and Revolution Youth Coalition in Aswan spokesperson, Wael Ref’at. While some of the reports progressed to court, others are still being investigated by the prosecutor general or the local attorney general.
Among the crimes the protesters are accusing Al-Sayed of is that of wasting public money through the implementation of an agricultural and housing project in Abu Karkar, Aswan. The project was initially launched in 2010 to provide the Nubians with alternative housing, in response to their ongoing demands to return to the lands surrounding the Nasser Lake. The Nubians were removed from their lands in Aswan the 1950s and 1960s in order to build the High Dam.
Beshir stated that the Abu Karkar project was implemented without proper preparation, and lost the state over EGP 2 billion.
“Building a house cost EGP 100,000 in the project, when they are in truth worth EGP 50,000,” Beshir said, adding that though the project was partially agricultural, it was discovered that Abu Karkar lands are not fit for cultivation.
The protesters escalated their sit-in on Sunday by moving their tents to the perimeter of the Aswan Governorate building.
“We currently block any access to the building through its front door,” Mamdouh said, adding that the protesters intend to occupy the back door, blocking any possible entrance to the building.
The protesters hung a sign during their sit-in which read: “Now that Egyptian president Morsy had removed the governor of Marsa Matrouh from his post, we now ask of the Sudanese president Omar Al-Bashir to remove the governor of Aswan from his post.”
Mamdouh explained the sign, saying; “if our own president is not giving any attention to our demands, we might as well resort to the nearest president geographically.”
The sit-in began in late September, with a diverse range of Aswan citizens demanding the resignation of Al-Sayed for his implication in corrupt activities.
Al-Sayed has been the governor of Aswan since 2008 and was appointed by Hosni Mubarak during Ahmad Nazif’s cabinet and has served in four subsequent cabinets.
