Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation conducted drug tests on a random group of its employees, as a part of a wider state campaign to eliminate drug addiction at state bodies, ministries, schools, and universities.
In a statement on Monday, the ministry said that the drug tests were applied on 300 of the ministry’s employees and drivers. Most results were negative except for six workers who tested positive.
The ministry affirmed that it took the required and legal procedures toward those six employees.
The drug tests were carried out with coordination with the Egyptian Ministry of Social Solidarity and the Fund for Drug Control and Treatment of Addiction.
Each employee that tested positive for drug tests has the right to appeal the decision.
Egypt’s government started a massive campaign more than three months ago against drug addiction inside the state bodies. The ministry of social solidarity and the Fund for Drug Control and Treatment of Addiction lead the campaign.
A month ago, the ministry of social solidarity referred about 555 state employees to the administrative prosecution for consuming narcotic substances.
A number of 15,877 employees have undergone drug tests in 10 ministries and their affiliated institutions as well as school bus drivers from the beginning of January to the end of April.
Meanwhile, the fund has organised several awareness meetings in institutions and ministries under the title “Maslhtak” (for your sake) to raise awareness about the dangers of substance addiction.
The campaign came after President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi pointed out, during a ceremony marking the ‘Day of the Martyr’ in March, the Cairo station deadly accident in which dozens were killed and injured at the end of February. At that time, Al-Sisi asserted that the government will not tolerate those who proved to be drug addicts.
“Whoever is on drugs will be immediately dismissed from their work,” Al-Sisi said.
Egypt’s prosecution revealed that the locomotive driver responsible for the Cairo station’s deadly accident and the manoeuvre operator of the same railcar both tested positive for the potent narcotic ‘strox’.
