أخبار

General Mahmoud sharawi, minister of local development, met with a high-level delegation from world bank officials in Washington, including Dr. Sameh wahbah, world bank operations director, sheriff Hamdi, world bank deputy director, and Dr. Mohammed Nada, world bank urban development specialist, in the presence of Dr. Hisham al helbawi, programme manager for local development in upper  Egypt, and Dr. Khaled Abdul Haleem, programme director, as part of the discussion of the results of the midterm evaluation of the local development programme in upper Egypt which is  Financed in part by the world bank with a loan of $500 million and a contribution from the government of Egypt of $457 million.

The minister of local development, major-general Mahmoud sharawi, said that the programme was a top interests  and priority for the President of the republic and the government. The state considers it to be one of the major national projects that will bring about a paradigm shift in the lives of the two governorates’  citizens and improve their  standard of living .

The minister of local development said that there has been considerable progress in the implementation rates of projects in the two governorates. Large investments will be made before 30 June 2020. The projects will contribute to a comprehensive change in the economic and social development situation in Suhag and Qena governorates . Noted that We are currently implementing a medium-term investment plan with investments in excess of 8 billion pounds, which will give an unprecedented progress  to infrastructure services and economic development in the two governorates , contribute in creating  thousands of sustainable jobs for young people and enhance their competitiveness between the two governorates.

Sharawi added that the president  was satisfied with the level of progress that has been  achieved in the last  period when he met with members of the  steering committee of the program  under the chairmanship of the prime minister. He noted that there was continuous coordination and collaboration between the ministry, ministries of finance, planning, international cooperation and industry to resolve any difficulties and all challenges to the programme and to find  prompt resolutions.

Major general Mahmoud sharawi pointed out that the world bank has commended the initial successes of the reforms in suhag  and Qena , which had become generalizable to the rest of the governorates That came from all the bank missions that visited the two  governorates ,Suhag and Qena over the past year, In particular, with regard to improved institutional structures for governorates  and local units, the local planning system, the application of environmental and social considerations and occupational health and safety, as well as transparency, information dissemination and citizen participation.

Bank officials, for their part, praised the achievements of this programme, as the governorates were better able to formulate and implement investment plans and apply the environmental, social, technical and contractual requirements of the programme. There are qualified cadres at the local and central level to sustain results.

The delegation referred to the bank's pride in this programme as a success story for the countries of the world, which it is seeking to disseminate in some Egyptian governorates and to transfer to other countries in the region.

The delegation thanked the minister for local development for his efforts in the previous period to overcome all obstacles which encountered the program , particularly financial transfers, in addition to the efforts made by the program  team at the ministry.

The minister of local development revealed that the ministry began preparations for the geographical extension of the programme this year in Assiut  and Menia governorates after having discussed the request of the government of Egypt for the expansion of the programme's geographical scope, as directed by the President of the republic, and for additional funding from the bank. He noted that the two governorates were currently being qualified and that cadres and executive teams were being formed and trained at the same level as the governorates of Suhag and Qena, including the formation of local planning committees, the selection of a team that would be made up of local implementation units and the conduct of preliminary studies.

Sharawi added that there was instructions   from the political leadership and Mr. Prime minister that the environment should be well prepared for the implementation of the programme in the new governorates before the agreement was signed between the government of Egypt and the world bank, particularly since a similar sum of money would be provided as a local component of the government of Egypt, to help avoid the constraints or challenges experienced at the beginning of its implementation, and to ensure maximum results and the achievement of agreed targets.

Translated by: Hanaa Mohammed Saleh