The workshop recommends that other laws should not violate the Local Administration Law

Maat Foundation for Peace, Development and Human Rights continued its implementation of a group of workshops on “Decentralization and Public Services”, which comes within the framework of a decentralization program responsive to citizen’s rights, which the Foundation is implementing in cooperation with the German Hans Seidel Foundation (Cairo office), where the Foundation held the second workshop within two days ( November 23-24, 2012)
The workshop discussed the issues of housing, public facilities and environmental services along with the possibility to implement the decentralization concept within their performance, with the participation of executive officials, experts and the actors of related National Action.
The workshop aimed to approach both the officials and concerned parties' insight regarding the role of decentralization in improving the services of housing, public facilities and environmental services along with identifying the obstacles that face the enforcement of decentralization within the previous services, it also aimed to conclude general visions to overcome those obstacles.
Three policy briefs were presented to address the workshop topics, Dr, Baha' Fekry, former president of the Local Popular Council of El Minya governorate presented a policy brief on public facilities and their decentralization management mechanisms. Dr, Tarek El Beltagy, human rights experts presented a policy brief on decentralization and the right to housing. When Mr, Youssef Farid, environmental expert presented his policy brief on the decentralization of planning and implementation of environmental services in Egypt.
The workshop recommendations included the necessity for the new Local Administration Law to guarantee the elimination of other violating law articles to its provisions along with stating the subjection of the entire public facilities, environmental services and housing services to their Local Units of Government.
Besides, the necessity for a definite article to guarantee the existence of representatives of the beneficiaries "citizens" in the membership of both the Assemblies and the Boards of Directors of the Drinking Water and Sanitation Companies, and Electric Holding Companies. Those members should be chosen from either elected Local Popular Councils or particular positions within those Local Popular Councils.
The workshop also recommended to conclude updating the systems of the Real estate publicity district and Documentation along with the unification of the procedures and paper work, beside reconsidering the governorates geographic planning and distributing the housing allocations within the state public budget equitably on different governorates.
In addition to the significance to transfer the authorities of the Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs to the environmental administrations in the Local Units of Government along with the competence of those Local Units on contracting environmental services after the agreement of the competent Local Popular Councils with prioritizing local garbage collectors and legalizing their roles.
To view the working papers on the following links
https://maatpeace.org/node/3937
https://maatpeace.org/node/3938
https://maatpeace.org/node/3939