Egyptian economic reports, the reconstruction of Libyan Derna, and investigations of logging in Cairo

Egypt has confirmed the ability of its economy to withstand the crises the region is going through, with growth rates increasing during the fiscal year ending last June 30, recording 5.1 percent, and monthly inflation continuing to decline.

During his participation in a ministerial session at the “Egyptian Entrepreneurship Sector” Summit in Hurghada, on Friday, Minister of Planning and Economic Development Ahmed Rostom stressed that “the sectors of industry, trade, communications, and information technology together contributed about 48 percent of the total growth achieved, which reflects the diversity of sectors that lead growth between industry and service sectors, which represents a real advantage other than the total number that exceeded the expectations of international institutions.”

He pointed out that “Egypt benefited from the previous shocks it was exposed to over the past years, and dealt with them with the utmost professionalism,” explaining that “the government aims to increase the contribution of private investment from 59 to 64 percent by 2030, and for investment to be through various sectors.”

Rustom also stressed the importance of working to “continue targeting inflation and providing more job opportunities, noting that monthly inflation continues to decline, recording 12.7 percent last August, compared to 13 percent for the same month last year.”

He stressed that the government’s goals “go beyond simply achieving high growth rates, to include implementing a comprehensive economic transformation program based on competitiveness and expanding private investment in five pivotal sectors: industry, agriculture and food processing, tourism, communications and information technology, and energy security, to transform overall stability into sustainable growth that generates exports and raises living standards in all governorates.”

Deputy “Economic Affairs Committee” in the House of Representatives, Ayman Mohsab, confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that “the Egyptian state now has a greater ability to maintain the stability of macroeconomic indicators, while overcoming many successive crises that have been imposed on the global economy since the (Corona) pandemic, through the repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian war, all the way to the unrest in the region.”

Mohasseb also stressed that “increasing growth rates and improving economic activity are among the most important indicators that indicate the restoration of economic activity in the country, which is something that has become appreciated by global financial institutions, and is reflected in the increase in monetary reserves,” pointing to the necessity of accelerating the pace of building what he called “economic immunity” by accelerating structural reforms and improving the investment environment. But a member of the “Economic Committee” in the House of Representatives, Muhammad Fouad, told Asharq Al-Awsat that “the basic problem in dealing with the economic situation lies in the currently applied model, in which the state competes within the market as a financier, organizer, and competing producer, while borrowing to finance its needs, and adopting an economic model based primarily on spending and not production,” according to his opinion.

He adds: “It requires a change to pay attention to indicators that really matter to citizens by providing job opportunities, truly improving incomes, and attracting productive investments.”

Fouad points out that the state’s presence in the markets “should be less, so that it is regulated and not competing with the investments pumped by the private sector, which makes the Egyptian economy shift from consumption and borrowing to production and investment, and then the ability to export and compete.”

Mohamed Anis, a member of the Egyptian Society for Legislative Economics, points out “the necessity of paying attention to the drivers of increased growth and dividing them, with a focus on private investments and not public investments that are through borrowing in order to achieve sustainable growth.” He added to Asharq Al-Awsat that “working to simplify procedures in dealing with companies will make Cairo an attractive location for investors.”

For his part, Amr Hashem Rabie, an expert at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, points out to Asharq Al-Awsat that “the digital government’s growth targets and other numbers that officials see as positive must be asked about their impact on citizens who are still facing the repercussions of the price increase, in addition to the borrowing policy.”

Three years after the disaster of Hurricane Daniel, the Libyan city of Derna has begun to regain its features through extensive reconstruction projects, while affected families are still demanding the completion of their rights to housing and compensation, amid the continuation of a judicial process that has not yet resolved responsibility for the collapse of the city’s two dams.

While the authorities began distributing new housing units to those affected, appeals were renewed from other families who were not included in the lists of beneficiaries, while some dilapidated homes still bear witness to the effects of the disaster, which left thousands dead and missing, and destroyed large parts of the city.

The complaints of the residents of the “Al-Akwakh neighborhood” in the Astalat area on the eastern coast of Derna continue, through statements and video recordings, to demand that their area be included in the housing and compensation projects, pointing out the dilapidation of their homes and the greater damage to the infrastructure since the “Daniel” disaster. They said that a concerned committee had previously counted and numbered the homes, which strengthened their hopes of obtaining new housing.

Civil activist Noah Awyan believes it is necessary to reconsider the suffering of the residents of the “Al-Akwakh Neighborhood” in Derna, adding in a statement to Asharq Al-Awsat that “the Libya Development and Reconstruction Fund has become a source of hope for many Libyans in resolving many of the outstanding housing and living problems.”

Hurricane Daniel struck Derna and several areas in eastern Libya on September 11, 2023, after the collapse of the city’s two dams led to huge amounts of water rushing toward residential neighborhoods. The authorities announced varying numbers of victims and missing persons during the stages of dealing with the disaster.

The Libya Development and Reconstruction Fund, led by Belkacem Haftar, began a large project to reconstruct Derna two years ago, which included the distribution of 2,500 free, furnished housing units to those affected since the spring of this year. Last month, it was announced the construction of 552 units, within the “Jabal Buildings” project.

Among the families who are still recalling the effects of the disaster and suffering from its consequences is the family of Maraji Al-Qazizi, who lost his brother Walid inside the family home during the floods. Al-Qazizi says that the reconstruction has achieved tangible progress on the front of the house, but his family is still experiencing the effects of the tragedy inside.

Al-Qazizi, in a post on Facebook, attached a video recording of the dilapidated state of the house from the inside, and pointed to the issuance of judicial rulings in favor of some of those affected without their implementation, demanding “justice for the families who lost their homes.” Pointing out that “appreciating the reconstruction efforts does not negate the right of the affected families to obtain their full rights.”

In another testimony, published by an account called “Abdul Halim Haff” on Facebook, one of the affected people narrated that he received a message stating that his family was entitled to a housing unit, which brought joy to his children, before he was surprised by the absence of his name from the lists of those entitled to it. According to his narration, the Inventory and Compensation Committee informed him that the letter was sent by mistake, and this situation turned into a shock for his family, wondering about the fate of his property that he had bought with his own money.

On the other hand, Abu Bakr Al-Zawi, Director of the Fund’s Inventory and Compensation Department, said in a video recording that the committee opened the door to complaints to those who see themselves as harmed through an official committee, consisting of the Attorney General in Derna and the Director of Security.

According to the latest official figures, the completion rate of reconstruction work in Derna has reached 80 percent. In a statement issued on Friday, Belkacem Haftar pointed out that “a bigger surprise is approaching the city, as it opens a new page in its history, through a grand opening befitting the achievements achieved there.”

Reconstruction efforts did not succeed in closing the file of judicial accountability for the disaster, amid a state of dissatisfaction prevailing among the families of the victims, according to local media reports.

After issuing a ruling convicting 12 officials and acquitting 4 others in July 2024, the Supreme Court ruled to overturn the rulings, allowing the convicts to be retried before the Benghazi Court of Appeal since October 2025. In the most recent public session held on August 9, the court decided to postpone the case until next October 4, so the trial will continue without a final ruling being issued yet.

The lawyer and activist from Derna, Muhammad Al-Lafi, told Asharq Al-Awsat that what happened in Derna resulted from “error and negligence” by successive regimes and governments, explaining that he took up the defense of the rights of the victims to demand financial compensation to compensate for the damage caused to the families.

Al-Lafi indicated that compensation requests were rejected before the judiciary, highlighting that the interim “national unity” government in the west of the country, which has influence over the state’s financial decision, has not yet put forward an initiative to compensate the families of the victims. On the other hand, he praised the assistance provided by the General Command of the National Army and the construction of housing for families whose homes were destroyed.

In conjunction with the open compensation file, the third anniversary of the disaster was marked at both the official and popular levels on Friday in a remarkable way, as the President of the Presidential Council, Mohamed Al-Manfi, recalled the victims of “Daniel,” and affirmed on Friday that “the tragedy united the Libyans,” praising the reconstruction efforts and the restoration of life in Derna and the affected areas.

For his part, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aguila Saleh, said that the reconstruction that took place in Derna represented “a qualitative leap that amazed everyone,” according to Friday’s statement. As for Osama Hammad, the head of the government appointed by Parliament, he saw that “the city is moving towards recovery and restoring its role.”

Citizens and local institutions participated in commemorating the anniversary by recovering photos and memories of the victims on social media. The disaster dates back to the night of September 10 and 11, 2023, when heavy rains caused the collapse of Derna’s dams, sending water forcefully rushing toward the city. The floods resulted in thousands of deaths, missing people, and displaced people, and left widespread destruction in homes, roads, bridges, and infrastructure.

The Public Prosecution in Egypt ordered the launch of expanded investigations into incidents of tree felling, after receiving reports of new incidents.

She said in a statement, on Thursday evening, that she had commissioned the competent supervisory authorities to conduct the necessary investigations into the truth of these facts, and to explain the reasons for cutting down those trees and their quantities - if proven to have occurred - and the measures that were taken in this regard. It also directed that the necessary legal measures be taken regarding the findings of the investigations.

The issue of cutting trees was renewed with the spread of many pictures of League of Arab States Street in the Mohandiseen neighborhood in Giza, during its development operations. This sparked widespread controversy and criticism over the past few days, after scenes of tree removal raised questions about the mechanisms for implementing development work, and the possibility of preserving existing trees or moving them instead of cutting them down.

The controversy developed into an extensive discussion through the media and social media platforms, accompanied by several parliamentary criticisms. Which led to “presidential intervention”; President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi directed officials to adopt a project to “green Cairo,” which aims to transform any vacated space into green spaces. He stressed the need to continue efforts to develop the areas surrounding historical and heritage monuments, while adopting a project aimed at increasing green spaces inside Cairo.

The presidential directives were followed by several government movements, which began with the directives of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly to stop cutting down trees, and to implement the presidential directives to “green Cairo,” starting with planting the ring road and a number of main axes and roads, with the formation of a working group of ministries, governorates, and advisory offices to follow up on implementation. The assignments also included inventorying vacant government lands, and beginning to transform them into parks and green spaces.

In conjunction with the government moves, the Public Prosecution had begun extensive investigations into the incident of removing trees on Arab League Street, before receiving reports of incidents in other areas, which raised speculation and questions about the possibility that the investigations would lead to identifying those responsible and holding them accountable.

Member of the House of Representatives, Dr. Maha Abdel Nasser, said that she is “waiting for the investigations to lead to identifying those responsible,” noting in a statement to Asharq Al-Awsat that “taking legal measures in the tree-cutting case is a positive thing, especially following presidential directives, and that the most important goal is to stop the cutting of trees permanently, regardless of the possibility of holding those responsible accountable, but we hope that the investigations will lead to results.”

According to a study published by the Springer Nature platform in February 2022, Cairo lost about 911,000 square meters of its green spaces between 2017 and 2020, bringing its total area down from about 7.8 million square meters to 6.9 million square meters.

The study showed that 22 of Cairo's 37 neighborhoods, which contain about two-thirds of the city's population, recorded "less than half a square meter of green space per capita, while the Urban Coordination Guide for existing cities in the Nile Valley indicates a minimum of 7 square meters per capita."

Professor of Environmental Sciences at Ain Shams University, Dr. Abdel Masih Samaan, believes that prosecution investigations will be able to identify those responsible for cutting trees and hold them accountable. He told Asharq Al-Awsat: “As long as the prosecution takes action, there will be results and it will be able to identify those responsible.”

According to Semaan, “cutting trees in the streets in Egypt constitutes an environmental disaster and has no standards. It is done according to specifications that have nothing to do with the environment, including the construction of roads or bridges. This must be followed by planting other trees in nearby areas, and specialists must be consulted before cutting any tree for the sake of development.”