(AFP Photo / Mohammed Abed)
Egypt’s government has ruled that state housing will be provided to the families of those killed and wounded in the 25 January Revolution, according to a statement from the housing ministry.
The National Council for the Care of Martyrs’ Families and the Injured of the Revolution is tasked with carrying out a study on the current social status of the victims’ families to determine their eligibility, the statement said.
This initiative came after a Sunday meeting between Housing, Public Utilities and Urban Communities Minister Ibrahim Mehleb and Secretary General of the National Council for the Care of Martyrs’ Families and the Injured of the Revolution Mohamed El-Shafie.
El-Shafie noted that the ministry has previously allocated 64 residential units to the injured of the revolution, but they have not been handed over yet. He said that the units will be incrementally provided to the families.
Last week, the government approved the issuance of ration cards to the families of the wounded following a meeting between El-Shafie and Supply Minister Mohamed Abu Shady,
Abu Shady noted that the decision comes on the third anniversary of the 25 January Revolution.
Around 670 families of those killed and 3,200 of the injured have received compensation, former Prime Minister Kamal El-Ganzoury said in January 2012. He later promised that the remaining families will also be compensated.
The Administrative Court in January 2012 called on the government to provide an urgent exceptional monthly pension – based on their specific needs – to those who had been injured in the revolution.
The dissolved People’s Assembly had approved a law that would increase compensations for the families of those killed from EGP 30,000 to EGP 100,000. Finance Minister Momtaz El-Saeed condemned the law, saying it would require an additional EGP 400 million from the ministry.
With regard to developing the housing sector, Mehleb noted earlier in December that the sector is in the process of receiving new investments through domestic and Gulf investors totaling EGP 100 billion.
He explained that the ministry plans to establish 25 new cities after Gulf investors announced their willingness to fund the construction of 50,000 residential units as part of this project.
