The NDP blocked moves to call for a vote of no confidence in the People's Assembly after the publication of a report into the sinking of the Al-Salam ferry cited deep seated corruption as one cause of the disaster, writes Mohamed El-Sayed "Nobody [responsible for the disaster] will escape punishment," said President Hosni Mubarak following the sinking of the ferry Al-Salam 98 on 3 February 2006. The worst marine disaster in Egypt's modern history claimed the lives of 1,033 passengers. The president's promise, though, is proving difficult to keep. On Monday, the People's Assembly shrugged off a 500-page report prepared by the ad-hoc fact-finding committee formed by parliament to investigate the disaster after debating it for less than an hour and a half. The report, written by Hamdi El-Tahhan, the committee's chair and head of the People's Assembly Transport Committee, exposed negligence and corruption as well as mismanagement of the crisis. Mamdouh Ismail, chairman of Al-Salam Company for Marine Transportation, the owner of the ferry, was proven, in his capacity as a member of the board of the Red Sea Ports Authority, "to have illegally used nine thousand square metres at Safaga Port, rented for 10-piastres-per-metre annually, to establish a terminal for his ferries." The report also found "gross negligence, bordering on premeditation, especially on the part of the Marine Safety Authority, in applying rules set forth in laws and international treaties and conventions" and castigated Al-Salam Company for contravening the maritime trade law and ships law. The government received scathing criticism for the shortcomings of the rescue operation. "Relief and rescue teams reached the site of the sunken ferry 12 hours after it first sent a distress signal... the delay aggravated the human cost of the accident and contributed to a significant increase in the number of fatalities." Management of the crisis was confused and inefficient. "The government," says the report, "shrugged off the accident soon after it occurred and left the whole matter to local authorities which lacked the resources to deal with a disaster on such a scale." While 87 members of the People's Assembly demanded a vote of no confidence in the government following the publication of the report, their calls were defeated by the majority of National Democratic Party members. Independent MP Kamal Ahmed despairs at the levels of corruption that contributed to the disaster. "Corruption in the marine transportation sector is exemplified by the marriage between the authorities and the owner of the sunken ferry, a member of the Shura Council who used his position to secure illicit gains. Nor can I understand how the distress signal was picked up by the Aviation Ministry at 3am, then sent to the Defence Ministry which claims it did not receive it." Ahmed was also shocked by the behaviour of ministers who, in the face of the disaster, still found the time to go to the Cairo Stadium to attend the final of the African Nations Cup. "What possible disaster will it take before the government feels compelled to resign?" he asked. "This government is corrupt. The report obviously incriminates the government which should accept responsibility. The assembly should withdraw its confidence because if we don't it will be the people who withdraw confidence from us all." Muslim Brotherhood MPs seized the opportunity to attack the government. Mohamed El-Beltagui accused the Upper House of parliament of protecting the owner of the ferry, claiming "the Shura Council procrastinated over lifting Mamdouh Ismail's parliamentary immunity, allowing him time to flee the country". Independent MP Mustafa Bakri argued that the sinking of the ferry was part and parcel of the crisis that has "arisen from the hegemony of new power centres that support and protect corruption". "Egypt," he said, "now comprises 200 men who control everything. Such is the stupidity in the ruling party that they will inevitably lead the regime to disaster." Calling for confidence to be withdrawn from the government, he warned that the People's Assembly would face a "credibility deficit" because of the facts revealed in the report. Minister of State for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Moufid Shehab retorted that the claims made by opposition MPs were "based on exaggeration and incorrect information". Meanwhile, the Safaga Felonies Court in the Red Sea Governorate continues to hear cases related to the sinking of the ferry.
