By Mohamed Fawzy
Employees in the Ministry of State for Administrative Development (MSAD) organised a demonstration at the Ministry’s headquarters the day before yesterday to protest against their Ministry being overlooked in the new cabinet.
Officials within the MSAD indicated that a meeting had been set between Dr Ashraf Abdel Wahab, the acting head of the MSAD, and Prime Minister Hesham Qandil, in order to discuss the crisis at the Ministry and how to respond to the employees’ demands.
According to a number of protestors, many projects, such as the family identification card and others, will cease if the Ministry is abolished or if its responsibilities are distributed among other government agencies.
Workers in the Ministry stressed that they contributed to a number of achievements for the Egyptian government, including setting up “electronic government” services, an effort that earned a United Nations prize, distributing social security to 12 million families, and enabling greater co-ordination between government agencies through electronic organisation. The government’s new electronic services enable citizens to electronically access government services and submit documents, purchase tickets for public transportation, pay bills, and submit taxes.
Former Prime Minister, Kamal El-Ganzouri, had previously issued decision 34 of 2012 that tasked Ashraf Abdel Wehab with taking over the MSAD’s operations after a number of protests from employees.
