Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights concluded the workshop "Towards more Supportive Legislative Framework of Decentralization" yesterday, Friday, March 30, 2012, organized by Maat in cooperation with Hanns Seidel Stiftung in Ain Sukhna for three days.

Selection of local management experts, public administration professors, civil society actors, popular representatives, and current and previous executives participated in the workshop.

The workshop presented five policy briefs, the first one by Dr. Nahed Adib, Capacity-Building Officer at the Local Administration Development Unit in the Ministry of Local Development and tackled the current problems in the local system in Egypt and the justifications to reconsider it.

Dr. Khaled Zakeria, Public Administration Professor in Cairo University and Local Systems Expert presented the second paper, which addressed the Egyptian and international experiences in implementing decentralization, its advantages, and the basics for the intended development based on these experiences.

Counselor at the State Litigation Authority, Eid El Baioumi prepared the third paper and Mr, Tareq El Beltagi, Cassation Lawyer and Legal Researcher presented the paper, it presented a demonstration to the conflicted legal frameworks that hinder the implementation of decentralization and need reconsideration during the next stage.

Dr. Saleh El Sheikh, Professor at Cairo University and well-known advisor for the previous Local Development Minister presented the fourth paper, it tackled the constitutional framework for local administration in the Egyptian constitutions since 1923 till the issuance of the current constitutional declaration compared to the French constitution, the paper also presented integrated insight for decentralization in the new constitution.

Mr. Walla Gad El Kareem, Consultant Of Monitoring And Evaluating Development Projects prepared the fifth paper, which handled the political parties' visions on local administration and decentralization through a reading in these parties programs with indicating the relation with the political party ideology.

Other than policy briefs presentations, the workshop hosted a group of sessions to draft constitutional articles on local administration, the drafting committee included each of; Mr. Aymen Okeil, Cassation Lawyer and Legal Researcher, Mr. Tareq El Beltagi, Cassation Lawyer and Legal Researcher, Mr. Mohamed Radi Mas'oud, Cassation Lawyer and Legal Expert, Gamalat Rafe', Former MP, and Mr. Magdy Helmy, Journalist and the Managing Editor of Al Wafd newspaper.

The drafting committee recommended the necessity to create an independent chapter in the new constitution entitled "local system" instead of being one of the components of the executive authority, the workshop also drafted seven constitutional articles to identify the roles, authorities, how to choose executive and popular representatives, the local system structure and the governor's role.

The workshop also came up with a set of legal principles to be taken into consideration in the new local administration law.

Maat foundation would send the proposed constitutional articles to the Constituent Assembly, the proposed legal principles to both the Suggestions and Complaints Committee in the People's Assembly and the formed committee to amend the law in the Ministry of Local Development.

Texts of the proposed constitutional articles

* M: The Arab Republic of Egypt is divided into local administrative units that enjoy legal personality, including the governorates, cities and villages, and other units may be established. The law specifies precisely the criteria for establishing these units, the changes that occur to them, and the necessary procedures for that after obtaining the approval of the local popular councils elected at the same level to be established.

* M: The local people's councils are the highest administrative authority at the corresponding local levels. Their members are elected for a period of four years by free and direct secret balloting under full judicial supervision in the manner prescribed by law.

* M: The local executive bodies implement the policies of the local elected people's councils, each at its level, and the law defines how to form the executive councils at the local level and the conditions for assuming leadership positions. The elected local people's councils have the right to question the executive bodies each at its level in addition to withdrawing confidence from the heads of these bodies according to the law .

* M: The law defines the competencies and powers exercised by local units at their various levels in the areas of public utilities and services. The law guarantees support for decentralization and regulates the means to enable local administrative units to provide facilities and services, promote them, and better manage them.

M: The local units shall have clear financial powers and sources to finance their development projects and plans in accordance with the mechanisms of participatory planning.

The elected local people's councils shall have the right to set their own budgets and manage the various local resources in terms of local taxes, fees and others, in accordance with what is specified by law.

* M: For each governorate, a governor shall be appointed in accordance with the conditions and procedures set forth in the law, and he shall exercise the financial and administrative oversight role over the legality of decisions of local popular councils and the work of the executive bodies.

The governor implements the state’s policies, guarantees its unity, maintains order and security, protects human rights, and guarantees justice in the distribution of public resources. In this regard, he has the right to object to local budgets.

* M: The State Council courts of various degrees are competent to settle disputes that may arise between local units and local popular councils elected in accordance with the law