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<\/p>\nMedia Figure Dr. Magdy Kamel El-Hewary Writes: \u00abSiwa\u00bb Under the Grip of Water Chaos\u2026 Who Governs Matrouh\u2019s Water? The Ministry of Irrigation or the City Council?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
At a time when Egypt\u2019s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation is leading one of the most critical and sensitive portfolios in the country \u2014 under the leadership of internationally renowned expert Dr. Hani Sewilam, who assumed office in August 2022 and whose mandate has recently been renewed, recognized as one of the world\u2019s leading specialists in water management and sustainable development \u2014 the reality on the ground in Siwa Oasis, Matrouh Governorate, appears entirely inconsistent with what is officially declared.
\nWhile the state speaks of rationalizing water consumption, modernizing irrigation systems, and achieving equitable water distribution, what we witness in Siwa resembles administrative disorder, absence of decisive leadership, and the handing over of water distribution to parties that hold neither legal jurisdiction nor institutional affiliation with the Ministry.
\nThirsty Land\u2026 and an Official Who Steps Aside
\nA citizen (M.A.A.) in Siwa Oasis, who owns three feddans cultivated with palm and olive trees, was shocked to find irrigation water cut off from his land due to what he described as arbitrary diversions. He submitted a formal request to Eng. Emad El-Shamy, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation.
\nHowever, according to his account, the request was not even formally received. Instead, he was redirected to the Head of Siwa City Council on the grounds that the matter did not concern the Irrigation Undersecretary.
\nHere, the most serious question begins.
\nA Direct Constitutional Question:
\nWho Holds Jurisdiction?
\nWhat authority does Siwa City Council \u2014 affiliated with the Ministry of Local Development \u2014 have over the affairs and operations of the Directorate of the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation?
\nHow can a purely technical matter \u2014 concerning wells, irrigation networks, and water distribution \u2014 be transferred from the legally competent authority (the Ministry of Irrigation) to a local administrative body that lacks both the technical and legal mandate in this domain?
\nWhy does the former control decisions that belong to the latter?
\nIf the Ministry of Irrigation holds technical jurisdiction over water resources, how does decision-making shift to the City Council?
\nIf the City Council directs and decides, then what is the role of the Irrigation Directorate?
\nAnd ultimately \u2014 who holds whom accountable?
\nThis overlap of authorities is not merely an administrative irregularity; it opens a dangerous door to blurred responsibilities and the absence of accountability.
\nA Paralyzed Committee\u2026 and Dying Lands
\nThe Head of the City Council referred the request to the Chairman of the Permanent Committee for decision.
\nBut according to available information, the Committee Chairman was injured in an accident, has a broken leg, is over sixty-five years old, does not leave his home, and files are piling up without signature or resolution.
\nWhat kind of administrative disorder is this?
\nShould citizens\u2019 livelihoods come to a halt because one individual is physically unable to act?
\nWhere is the delegation system?
\nWhere is the alternative mechanism?
\nWhere is the institutional state we speak of?
\nAn Engineering Paradox Raising Serious Questions
\nThe well in question lies only 18 meters from the citizen\u2019s land.
\nYet he is compelled to extend a 220-meter pipeline from a mixed reservoir to irrigate his field.
\nA decision that multiplies costs and wastes time \u2014 without any convincing technical justification.
\nWhen the citizen offered to bear the cost of constructing a mixed reservoir inside his own land to reduce expenses, he was told that the request was \u201cunconvincing,\u201d and that the decision remains suspended due to the Committee Chairman\u2019s injury.
\nMeanwhile, according to eyewitness accounts, the very same well supplies fresh irrigation connections to other reservoirs \u2014 reportedly facilitated through personal relationships, mediation, and favoritism.
\nIf this is accurate, then this is no longer a technical issue\u2026 but a serious administrative imbalance.
\nA Ready-Made Response\u2026 and a Puzzling Characterization
\nWhen the citizen escalated his complaint to the Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Dr. Hani Sewilam, a response came swiftly.
\nHowever, according to the account, the reply appeared pre-prepared by officials in Matrouh, stating that the citizen \u201cwants fresh water.\u201d
\nOne must ask: what would he do with it on agricultural land?
\nThe land is planted with palm and olive trees. The farmer merely requested irrigation through the construction of a mixed reservoir within his property \u2014 yet the matter was framed as though he were demanding a special privilege.
\nEven when citizens requested that the Minister form a neutral fact-finding committee to investigate the complaint and verify its accuracy, no such committee has been formed to date.
\nHas requesting irrigation now become an accusation?
\nWho is responsible for the dying crops in Siwa?
\nPalm and olive trees in Siwa are not merely crops \u2014 they are identity, a tourism symbol, and an economic resource.
\nWho bears responsibility for the destruction of these high-value plantations?
\nWho is accountable, Mr. Prime Minister, for the loss and devastation of Siwa\u2019s agricultural and tourism-linked crops?
\n(A Final Message That Cannot Be Delayed)
\nThe injustice in irrigation water distribution continues in Siwa, Mr. President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
\nThe injustice in irrigation water distribution still persists, Mr. Prime Minister.
\nIf water management is a matter of national security, then leaving it hostage to overlapping jurisdictions, arbitrary decisions, local favoritism, and committee decision-makers with no technical or legal affiliation to the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation constitutes a danger no less serious than water scarcity itself.
\nToday, Siwa is not merely asking for water.
\nIt is asking:
\nWho governs?
\nWho decides?
\nWho holds the authority to hold others accountable?
\nAnd who assigns critical files to those neither technically nor legally qualified to handle them?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Media Figure Dr. Magdy Kamel El-Hewary Writes: \u00abSiwa\u00bb Under the Grip of Water Chaos\u2026 Who Governs Matrouh\u2019s Water? The Ministry of Irrigation or the City Council? At a time when Egypt\u2019s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation is leading one of the most critical and sensitive portfolios in the country \u2014 under the leadership of …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-105961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-7"],"yoast_head":"\n