Proposes the necessary restructuring of governorates, creating new quality-focused ones.
Hazem Omar, a presidential candidate, has revealed the intricacies of his vision for local administration reform during the first electoral conference of his campaign.
In his electoral program, Hazem Omar outlined key points for reforming the local administration system:
1. Governorate Redesign and Economic Regions:
o Proposes the necessary restructuring of governorates, creating new quality-focused ones.
o Suggests grouping these governorates into economic regions to address population growth and vast areas efficiently.
o Aims to reduce the size of governorates, promote comprehensive local development, prevent encroachments, preserve state properties, enhance communication with citizens, and resolve accumulated issues.
2. Special Status for Cairo:
o Calls for establishing a special status for Cairo as the capital, in accordance with Article 222 of the constitution.
o Advocates for a separate governorate in the northwest with Al Obour city as its capital and another in the south starting from the North Tahrir axis.
o Aims to eliminate irregularities and issues within Cairo, ensuring focused development and orderly expansion.
3. Reviving Local Administration Secretariat:
o Advocates for the re-establishment of the Local Administration Secretariat to fulfill its designated role.
o Urges its return to the oversight of the Cabinet, eliminating financial entanglements between central ministries and local governorates.
o Rejects financial complications that surpass the governor's authority and responsibilities.
4. Empowering Local Government Employees:
o Emphasizes the importance of enhancing the capabilities of local government employees.
o Calls for a structured approach to selecting local leadership working under the governor, and restructuring associated local institutions.
o Strives to create a healthy local environment conducive to investment.
5. Revenue Determination for Governorates:
o Proposes defining revenues for governorates and establishing mechanisms for their collection.
o Aims to encourage local development, provide self-sustaining resources without relying on the central government, and prevent interference in jurisdictions.
o Draws inspiration from successful local systems worldwide where central governments receive a percentage of state sovereign revenues, ensuring funding for national projects.
6. Completion of Local Administration Academy:
o Highlights the need to complete the Local Administration Academy initiated by the Egyptian government.
o Emphasizes the importance of adhering to the executive regulations and enrollment conditions.
o Addresses the delayed necessary decisions for the academy's operation.
7. Real Local Development Initiatives:
o Urges the initiation of genuine local development projects for governorates.
o Aims to generate revenues to improve services and employee salaries locally, reducing dependence on the central government.
o Acknowledges the constitutional gap concerning the representation of residents in new urban communities in parliamentary councils.
During the inaugural conference at Al-Azhar Hall, presidential candidate Hazem Omar asserted that addressing citizens' challenges requires comprehensive and urgent local administration reform. He stressed the need for Egypt to enact new legislation for local administration, meeting citizens' demands.
