Manal Awad: Decentralization is a tool to enhance the ability of local communities to meet the needs of citizens more effectively
Dr. Manal Awad, Minister of Local Development, participated today in the dialogue session held within the activities of the World Conference on Population, Health and Human Development, entitled " Decentralization and human development… bridging the gap between policy and practice, which is held under the patronage of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Republic, under the slogan “Human Development: for a Sustainable Future,” in the New Administrative Capital.
Dr. Ahmed Al-Ansari, Governor of Fayoum, Dr. Khaled Abdel-Halim, Governor of Qena, and Mark Ahrim, an economic leader in Egypt, Yemen and Djibouti, participated in the session. The session was moderated by Dr. Hisham Al-Halabawi, Assistant Minister of Local Development for National Projects.
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The session, which was held in the New Administrative Capital, was attended by Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health and Population, a number of governors, Egyptian government officials, representatives of the private sector, and local and international organizations.
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The session dealt with the strategic implementation of decentralization in Egypt, the dimensions of administrative, financial and economic decentralization, how to empower local communities to enhance service delivery and human development, and review examples of successful local initiatives from Qena and Fayoum governorates, as a practical application to bridge the gap between policy and practice while enhancing Sustainable growth and community participation.
Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar stressed – during his intervention in the session’s activities – that the models of countries that have achieved successes around the world are those that have taken the approach of implementing decentralization, explaining that Competition between governorates is reflected in the economic progress of the state, indicating that studying the population map across Egypt and population growth rates puts our hands on the problems that concern each city and a specific center within a single governorate.
< p>The Deputy Prime Minister stressed that there are many indicators within each governorate that the state cannot manage centrally, and that tangible results of success cannot be achieved except by giving more powers to the governors and with the assistance of representatives of the relevant ministries within the governorates, explaining that the challenges of the strategies lie in implementation on the basis of The ground reality inside the governorate.
During her keynote speech at the session, Dr. Manal Awad expressed her happiness at participating in the work of the second edition of the World Conference on Health, Population and Human Development… which is a major event. The importance reflects the commitment of the Arab Republic of Egypt and the international community to achieving sustainable development and promoting public health as part of increasing efforts to confront contemporary health and population challenges.
The Minister of Local Development added that the session that brings us together today It represents a unique opportunity to highlight the necessity of linking decentralization policies and human development to ensure that the needs of individuals and communities remain at the heart of the decision-making process… and thus improve the quality of life of citizens, expressing her aspiration that the session will contribute to providing the opportunity to exchange knowledge and experiences between experts and decision-makers and shed light Based on local experiences in two governorates of Upper Egypt… to reflect the importance of decentralization in achieving sustainable human development, not only as a state policy but also as a tool to enhance the ability of local communities to meet the needs of citizens more effectively and ensure the improvement of basic services such as health, education, and infrastructure.< /p>
The Minister of Local Development explained that the Egyptian government places building the Egyptian people and enhancing their well-being at the top of its priorities. It is also committed to continuing the process of joint action to empower localities by activating the articles of the constitution that support the gradual trend of the Egyptian state towards administrative, financial and economic decentralization by enabling administrative units to provide local facilities, promote them, and manage them well, and transferring some powers and budgets to local administration units. All of this contributes. In supporting human development.
Dr. Manal Awad indicated that the Ministry of Local Development places at its top priority balanced spatial development and reducing development disparities geographically through programs directed to the areas most in need, such as The local development program in Upper Egypt to reduce the gaps between Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt and the presidential initiative " A decent life To reduce the gaps between urban and rural areas, as well as targeted economic projects aimed at meeting the needs of local communities, such as efforts to support small and medium enterprises.
The Minister of Local Development stressed that decentralization is an essential pillar for promoting development. Humanity, as it contributes to improving the quality of life for citizens by increasing the efficiency of public services and responding to the needs of the local community.
Dr. reviewed. Manal Awad The efforts undertaken by the Ministry of Local Development towards enhancing decentralization through several mechanisms closely linked to human development. At the forefront of these efforts is achieving fair and balanced geographical growth, and improving government response to the needs of citizens… This is done through continuous development of the planning process and project follow-up. Local development and enhancing the involvement of citizens in the planning process… to ensure that resources are allocated in a manner commensurate with their priorities… to achieve positive and sustainable results.
The Minister of Local Development said that community oversight of public services plays a role in An essential role in enhancing accountability and transparency… Perhaps applying effective mechanisms to address citizens’ complaints will contribute to bridging the gap between policy and implementation, noting the Ministry of Local Development’s interest in continuing to improve channels of communication with citizens to improve faster response to the problems faced by residents and improve the quality of services provided to them in the areas of Such as health, education, and economic empowerment, which contributes to raising their level of satisfaction and enhancing confidence in government performance.
Dr. Manal Awad explained that the Ministry of Local Development is working on a number of initiatives to accelerate the response to issues Population Enhance community participation and enable citizens to express their needs, leading to a more effective response from the government. For example, programs targeting health, educational and awareness issues have been launched in all governorates.
The Minister of Local Development also indicated that the Ministry pays great attention to encouraging partnerships with the private sector, which is considered an important mechanism for promoting human development and enhancing the participation of the private sector in implementing and managing economic and development projects at the local level… in addition to financing small, medium and micro enterprises by providing… Soft loans and technical support for project owners, which contributes to providing job opportunities, stimulating local economic growth, increasing families’ income, and improving their standard of living. This is in addition to training, craftsmanship, and capacity building programs for the owners of these projects and economic blocs to enhance the provision of job opportunities and improve the skills required in the market. Therefore, individuals are able to contribute more to local economic development.
Dr. Manal Awad said that decentralization is a tool for improving citizen satisfaction.. The Ministry of Local Development will work to evaluate The impact of decentralization on human development results through developing evaluation and follow-up systems… whether through activating the local development observatory or seeking the help of a neutral party to conduct citizen opinion polls on the services provided… and unifying the complaints system and linking it to the implementing agencies at the local level, in addition to measuring the state of the business climate in the country. Each governorate annually to create the local investment climate.
Dr. indicated. Manal Awad indicated that the Ministry of Local Development will spare no effort in implementing the directives of the political leadership to continue the process of structural and institutional reform and enable local communities to achieve fair and comprehensive development that meets the needs of all citizens.
 
Dr. Khaled Abdel Halim, Governor of Qena, reviewed the practices implemented by the governorate to improve services based on decentralization. Qena was a guide for implementing decentralization through the Upper Egypt Development Programme. The governorate can sign the Qena 20-30 strategic plan to link the executive programs. To achieve the goals of sustainable development, institutional development through developing the institutional structure of the governorate and an intensive program for human development in the governorate, as well as practicing performance indicators, as well as paying attention to the development of local resources.
While Dr. reviewed Ahmed Al-Ansari, Governor of Fayoum, presented the experience of applying decentralization practices in Fayoum Governorate, which has a special nature in terms of high population density, amounting to about 4 million people living on 50% of the land area in the governorate, explaining models for dealing with crises such as the Corona virus crisis, which reflects the practices of implementing decentralization by relying on… Local resources, the participation of the private sector, civil society and businessmen, as well as the model of the governorate’s successes in attracting internal and external investments have resulted in many investment projects in the governorate, as well as decentralization in capacity building to deal with attracting investors.
For his part, the World Bank’s economic expert in Egypt and Yemen, Mark Ahrim, confirmed that decentralization enables the exploitation of resources, citing the local development project for the governorates of South Upper Egypt, which provides valuable grants for the resources that must be spent and is based on objective decisions to determine the amount of money granted to the governorate and plan for it. Its basis is a very important approach, stressing the need for a better link between capital spending and operating spending, explaining that 8 million citizens benefited from the project and it received great positive reactions from citizens, calling for the continued implementation of this project, praising the Egyptian government’s handling of the application. The project and good coordination between the Ministries of Planning, Local Development and Finance were an essential feature of the project’s success.
