27 March 2009

Again the MB MP Dr. Farid Ismail has revealed a new corruption incident by the government as it sold the Egyptian Medicine Company to an Arab investor for ten times less than its actual price.

The MP had submitted an urgent statement to the Prime Minister Dr. Ahmad Nazif, ministers of investment, health and housing and work force on the selling of the company to an investor, saying, in his statement to the Parliament that this is a threat to the Egyptian health security and a waste of public money, however the government has stressed the selling of the company saying that it is a chance that shouldn’t be missed, as the central headquarters would be sold and its more than 39,000 acres and 831 meters and is located near the Nile in Shubra.

The statement reveals that the government has declared the selling of this company while it has made 168 million pounds revenue last year and is the only governmental company for medicine and has 53 branches, 9 stores and 58 pharmacies in addition to more than 2,000 workers and employers, adding that this company is the safety of which Egyptian patients cannott give it away nor its national important role it plays which achieves national security.

The statement pointed out to a strange thing as the state has developed and spent more than a billion to reconstruct it during the past years.

He added "albeit the government is committing a great crime now in the right of the Egyptian people and the Egyptian security by selling this vital and fundamental company and the other national medicine companies very cheap for investors for ten times less than its actual price and that the price of one meter in this area is between 25,000 to 30,000 pounds in addition to its buildings and equipments.

He stressed that selling these companies is a serious conspiracy against Egyptian medicine production.

Ismail has criticized the government in privatizing everything in Egypt in an ill-studied, non-transparent and non reliable way, despite the recession which the whole world and the Egyptian economy is going through and he called for the preservation of strategic industries, among it medicine industry, and keeping it under the state’s control and national security.

The statement questioned who would be the beneficiary of this deal? Who is the real buyer? for whom newspapers advertisement were made?

"Why all this daring on violation of the rights of these citizens, which the Ministry of Investment is seeking to lose instead of preserving it", he continued.

The statement was concluded with stressing on the seriousness of this issue and to take into account those responsible for this act and the need to transfer the file to the General Prosecution and the CAA in order to try the ones responsible and to preserve the peace and health of citizens.