Egypt's triple crises shine spotlight on societal ills but show appetite for change

A blockage on the Suez Canal, a deadly train crash and a fatal building collapse have exposed gaps in governance

People gather around the rubble of a building that collapsed in the popular area of Gesr Suez, east of the Egyptian capital Cairo. AFP

The past week has been exceptionally difficult for Egypt. A massive ship ran aground in the Suez Canal, blocking traffic in the vital trade route, a horrific train crash in the south of the country killed 19 and injured close to 200 others and the collapse of a 10-storey building in the heart of Cairo left 25 dead.

The three crises - on March 23, 26 and 27 - came at a time when the country of 100 million people was wrestling with even greater and perhaps more pressing problems: a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic and a massive Nile dam being built by Ethiopia that could deeply cut Egypt’s life-or-death share of the river’s water.

“The ship affair has severely taxed Egypt in terms of its international image,” said Gihad Auda, a political science professor at Cairo’s Helwan University. “It has been a litmus test for us in managing a crisis under the eyes of the world and amid growing perceptions of a nation struggling to manage a major resource.”

But the three incidents have revealed the duality of today’s Egypt, underscoring the serious challenges to modernising the most populous Arab nation at the same time as illuminating new and positive features of public discourse.

The Suez Canal crisis

Egypt and the rest of the world first heard that the 200,000-tonne Ever Given had run aground in the Suez Canal, blocking all traffic in the strategic waterway, on Wednesday, a full day after disaster struck.

The chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, former Navy Admiral Osama Rabie, spoke directly to the media for the first time on Saturday, four days after the incident. Until then, the authority was issuing brief statements that appeared to focus more on Adm Rabie’s decision to monitor efforts to refloat the 400-metre-long vessel in person.

For the first two days of the crisis, which disrupted global trade and moved international markets, local media said very little about the Ever Given.

“The ship crisis may have a happy ending, but the world is unlikely to forget the initial news blackout on what happened,” said Ammar Ali Hassan, an Egyptian author and sociologist. “That is exactly how the international image of a nation is shattered.”

Adm Rabie owned up to criticism of the lack of transparency when he spoke in Saturday’s 80-minute news conference.

“I apologise for the delay in issuing press releases quoting me directly,” he said.

“It is a difficult situation and my main concern was to deal with it. Had I opened the door (to the media), I would have wasted so much of my time.”

The train crash

In the aftermath of Friday’s train crash in the governorate of Sohag, Transport Minister Kamel El Wazir did something that’s rare in Egypt’s political discourse: He offered an apology. The retired army general, who enjoys the confidence of President Abdel Fatah El Sisi, offered more honesty the next day.

“Today, the president was clear. He asked whether we can still run the railway as we do now and prevent any more accidents from happening. I said ‘no,’ there will be more accidents,” he said on Saturday.

Gen El Wazir’s humility and honesty are refreshing in a country where top officials routinely shift the blame to others at times of crisis or promise what they cannot deliver.

Asked why he did not resign following the latest accident, he was equally candid.

“I am a combat soldier who does not run away. Running away is not a solution. If I run away then I betrayed my country.” But he also promised to step down if Egyptians thought he was not doing his job properly.

“It is indeed new that he offered an apology, but he needs to be held accountable, at least before parliament,” said Mr Hassan.

Gen El Wazir took up his current job in 2019, just days after his predecessor was fired following the death of 24 people when a fully fuelled engine car slammed into a wall in Cairo’s main station, igniting a ball of fire.

In the days since the Sohag incident, he has painted a harrowing picture of the challenges he faces while seeking to overhaul the transport sector at a cost of more than a trillion pounds.

The driver whose locomotive slammed into the back of a stationary train on Friday ignored warning signals and did not respond to radio messages warning him of the danger ahead. Some train drivers who caused past accidents were found to have switched off the automatic train control, the device that slows down trains or stops them altogether if potential trouble is ahead.

Amr Adeeb, a popular TV talk show host, said last week that he had learned that some passengers pull the brakes of trains near their homes and disembark to spare themselves the walk from the next station.

“If that’s true, then that is as bad as apostasy,” he said.

The building collapse

It was the week’s grim finale, though tragically not uncommon.

A 10-storey building not far from the centre of Cairo collapsed on Saturday. Reasons given for the collapse varied.

Some accounts said seven of the 10 storeys were added illegally, placing too much pressure on the foundations. Other reports spoke of the first floor being rented out to investors using it for giant refrigerators to store fresh fruits and vegetables, with water constantly leaking and weakening the foundations.

Mr El Sisi has personally led a high-profile campaign to stop illegal construction in Egypt. Last August, he threatened to deploy the army in “every village” to stop more illegal buildings going up. He said there were a total of 700,000 building violations across the country.

At least 70 per cent of all construction in Egypt since 1985 is illegal and 50 per cent of the country’s entire urban areas are the product of illegal or unplanned construction, he said.

Adding floors to existing buildings without permits or skipping the counsel of qualified architects and civil engineers is common in Egypt, where developers look for quick profit without heed to building codes or safety.

Corruption is also partially to blame, especially at local councils where officials turn a blind eye to violations in exchange for bribes or favours.