An interview with Hamat Al-Ard magazine with Dr. Mamdouh Ghorab, “Governor of Sharqia”

Hama Al-Ard magazine interview with Dr. Mamdouh Ghorab, “Governor of Sharqia”

Dr. Mamdouh Ghorab:

• Sharqia Governorate is one of the Egyptian food baskets.
• Sustainable development and its goals The Greater Egyptian Project.
• Al-Sharqia is the first governorate in growing and supplying wheat.

Readers ofHomat Al-Earth Magazine are accustomed to reading in each of its issues a special dialogue with ministers, governors, and high-ranking officials. Highlighting the most prominent Egyptian achievements in the field of supporting sustainable development and preserving the environment.

And today – through the March issue – you are meeting with a governor with long experience and a distinguished academic, who was able to use science as a way to advance the locomotive of development in an important governorate like Sharkia Governorate. To become one of the most important governorates of the Republic with a presence on the Egyptian development map.

In this dialogue, we visit the Sharkia Governorate, where its governor – Dr. Mamdouh Ghorab – explains how it became one of the governorates that seeks to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially after 2018, as Dr. Mamdouh Ghorab worked to develop the vision and mission of the governorate, in order to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), meet the needs of citizens, and achieve the aspirations of society, through managing resources in a sustainable manner, attracting investments, and preserving the Egyptian identity; In line with “Egypt Vision 2030”… so on to the lines of dialogue.

The government presented the strategic directions document for the Egyptian economy 2030, and one of its most important axes was maximizing the local product. How do you view the role of this document in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the impact of this on Al Sharqiya Governorate?

There is no doubt that sustainable development and its goals are the largest Egyptian project, and I believe that it is a national duty. Therefore, Sharkia Governorate was involved in achieving these goals, which are – in general – goals that are in line with the document on the strategic directions of the Egyptian economy 2030. Then, at the end of 2018, the governorate moved to develop its strategic plan 2019-2023, to be compatible with the strategic visions of Egypt and the United Nations goals for sustainable development 2030, through a number of related reforms and projects.

From here, we worked to implement the necessary projects to achieve social justice, implement equality, and combat poverty. We also paid attention to establishing the basic rules for achieving administrative reform, especially since they are reforms that help improve the quality of life of citizens, in addition to implementing the largest number of national projects, including – of course – infrastructure projects.

We were also able to apply standard specifications for environmental projects; To protect the environment, preserve its resources, and green urbanization, which has resulted in achievements in achieving food security, maximizing food production sources, intensifying food control, in addition to preserving water wealth through giant national projects. To achieve water security.

On the other hand, Al-Sharqiya Governorate sought to pay attention to the quality of education and instill a purposeful culture to bring about mental enlightenment. Education has become a sector of Al Sharqiya Governorate that is compatible with relevant international standards. In the health sector, we were able to improve the quality of health services provided, and this was through the implementation of presidential initiatives and health projects.

In the field of economics, we worked to maximize resources, support the economy, and encourage investment, as we took into consideration opening new horizons for investors, in addition to benefiting from the assets owned by the governorate, and achieving the highest rates of implementation in the files of legalization, reconciliation, and removing encroachments, and this is with the development of slum areas, and the implementation of renewable energy projects.

Among the best projects in Sharkia Governorate are those projects related to the automation of government services, the expansion of the establishment of technological centers, as well as the digital transformation, which was represented in: technological center services – camera system – electronic archiving – the national network for emergency and safety. All of this had a profound impact on improving the quality of services provided to the residents of the governorate in a deeper way than before. Hence, we were able to localize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Sharkia Governorate.

One of the most important sectors included in development strategies is the drinking water and sanitation sector. What role does Al-Sharqiya Governorate play in this regard?

I mentioned before how important the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are in the transition towards a more sustainable nation, one that meets the aspirations of the present and achieves future prospects. Al-Sharqiya Governorate believed in this in all its development endeavors, and also believed that this must be accompanied by consolidation and interest in infrastructure projects, such as drinking water and sanitation projects.

All of this is confirmed by the numbers, as the governorate was able to increase the number of villages served with sanitation from 83 villages in 2018 to 335 villages in 2023, with a total of 36 treatment plants, and 19 projects were implemented in the drinking water sector. To serve deprived villages in governorate centers.

Indicators measuring the empowerment of Eastern women in the field of work reflect a positive image. Was the governorate able to achieve the goals of “Egypt Vision 2030” in this regard, or is there still a long way to go?

This is an aspect of great importance, and to achieve this – actually – Sharkia Governorate has come a long way, and has been able to achieve resounding success in the field of empowering Eastern women. If we look at the numbers achieved on the ground, we will find that the female workforce in the public office, centers, and cities has reached 7,533 out of 18,830, and this amounts to 40% of the total workforce. Women have also been able to Al-Sharqiya Governorate is expected to be employed in 797 leadership positions out of 2,546 leadership positions at the governorate level, a rate of 31%.

With regard to economic empowerment – through the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency – women have obtained 31% of the total available job opportunities, and have implemented approximately 3,027 projects out of a total of 8,694 projects, either through the initiative of the Ministry of Local Development, or through the “Your Project” program, where Eastern women were able to acquire 339 projects. Out of 1018 projects, a percentage of 33%.

Al Sharqiya Governorate is witnessing an unprecedented development boom in its service sectors. Can you tell us about the most prominent features of this development?

The features of development in the Sharkia Governorate are many, and it is sufficient to mention how the Sharkia Governorate has been able to achieve the highest development rates, and has topped all governorates of the Republic in implementing service projects. According to its investment plan, in which implementation rates increased, as well as the total investments, which increased from 498 million pounds in the 2018-2019 plan, until it reached 872.415 million pounds in the plan for the fiscal year 2023-2024.

Since I assumed responsibility for Sharkia Governorate in 2018 until now, up to 2,026 projects have been implemented – and we are currently working on implementing 272 projects – which has created a qualitative breakthrough in the sectors of sanitation, drinking water, health, educational facilities, the roads and bridges sector, and natural gas services, as well as electricity and energy sector projects, and housing projects.

Because Sharkia Governorate is one of the Egyptian food baskets, and in order to preserve the governorate’s first strategic crop, the governorate has expanded since 2018 in establishing grain silos, which reached 7 new silos, with a storage capacity of 170 thousand tons.

What about the presidential initiative “A Decent Life”, especially since the city of Al-Husseiniyah was chosen to implement this important initiative?

It is not possible to talk about the development map in Sharkia Governorate without talking about the Husseiniya Center, and this importance made it an essential axis of the great presidential initiative to develop the Egyptian countryside “A Decent Life”; Since the launch of the first phase of the “Decent Life” project in 2019, the number of villages served in the center and city of Al-Husseiniyah has reached 41 villages, with a total of 907 projects, with an implementation rate reaching 90% in the various service sectors, and with total investments reaching 15 billion pounds.

The governorate’s administrative body was able to win the Government Excellence Award in its third session. What steps did the governorate take to become distinguished at the governmental level?

The Governorate of Sharqia has adopted a new approach, which has placed it at the forefront of all the governorates of the Republic in a number of files. Through the good practices of the governorate, it obtained 4 awards in 2019, 10 awards in 2020, and 11 awards in 2021. This is through the Egypt Government Excellence Competition.

Through the people of the governorate and its officials, we were able in 2023 to obtain the ISO 9001-2015 certificate, and the 1809-2019 certificate for the governorate’s general office and 3 technology centers. We can see the efforts of Sharkia Governorate in the agricultural sector, which it leads by being the first in cultivating and supplying the wheat crop at the level of all governorates of Egypt, and this leadership is expected to continue in the current year.

In the investment sector, Al-Sharqiya Governorate became among the top six places nationwide with a rating of 100%, and this is in the “Incentives for Performance Excellence in Public Investment Management at the Local Level” initiative for two consecutive years, which resulted in it receiving additional amounts of government investment. As for the sustainable education sector, the governorate took tangible steps on the ground, which qualified it to be part of the UNESCO network of sustainable education cities for the year 2024.

These were the most prominent achievements of Sharkia Governorate, and they are achievements and efforts that were reflected on the ground, achieving the highest rates of achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The governorate also has a long history in developing concepts of environmental preservation, and this was represented in: removing solid waste, covering drains, disposing of medical waste, environmentally friendly coal stoves, converting cars to run on natural gas, converting bakeries from solar to gas, and afforestation.

In the end, we can only thank Dr. Mamdouh Ghorab – Governor of Sharqia – for this view that answers the most important development questions and the most prominent environmental challenges, which makes Sharkia a sustainable Egyptian governorate.