Updated: Sisi vows "no more adverse possession in Egypt"

CAIRO – 14 May 2017: In light of a state plan to achieve sustainable development in Upper Egypt governorates, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi attended a ceremony in Qena Sunday to celebrate several developmental projects. Ministers of trade, agriculture and transportation presented the plans and achievements accomplished in their fields.



A number of ministers, state officials, and Armed Forces members also attended the celebration.

Speaking at the inauguration, Sisi stressed that economic reform was essential to achieve a state where the value of the Egyptian pound is a real reflection of Egypt’s economic capacities.



Prime Minister Sherif Ismail referred to the magnitude of the achievements that are occurring in Egypt, stressing that the country is on the right track to compensate for what it has missed out on in the different fields.

“We will work to develop all areas of production and services; and food security is undoubtedly one of the main challenges facing us today," Ismail stated, adding that the government seeks to achieve success and retrieve its appropriate position worldwide through economic reform.



Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation Abd el–Moneim el Banna, Minister of Supply and Internal Trade Ali el-Moselhi and Minister of Transportation Hesham Arafat also spoke at the ceremony.

Condemning adverse possession of agricultural land, Sisi affirmed this phenomenon will no longer be accepted in Egypt. He stated that the country supports investments, but refuses to operate in unorganized and unscientific ways.

The president assigned the military and the Ministry of Interior to deal with all cases of adverse possession. In case the land is already cultivated, the person should regulate his status and pay immediately; if not, the land must return to the government and be redistributed to the citizens, Sisi stated.

As Arafat announced a total of 10 million EGP will be needed for the electricity and mechanization of the railway system, Sisi demanded the minister to reveal the annual income of the railways, stressing that the discrepancy between the income and the expenses is huge.



“If one facility costs this much, how will we afford? How will we settle the Korean and French loans? The country cannot afford to pay,” Sisi said.

Sisi blamed officials for not revealing the total cost of the announced projects or the means to finance them.

Sisi is expected to visit Gerga Axis project, which cost 497.5 million EGP ($27.5m), lining roads of the western and eastern sides of the Nile and the Upper Egyptian roads with Red Sea ones. He will also inaugurate Tahta Bridge project that cost 80 million EGP, as well as another bridge in Luxor and projects of reclamation of 43 thousand feddans in the desert area Almrachda, Qena.