Last week, the government made two serious decisions. It decided not to extend the age of retirement for judges and to change the press leadership, who reached the age of retirement. In fact, the two decisions reflect that the ruling regime tries to pump new blood and respect the law, which has been violated for many years at the expense of people and the government alike.
Any strong government should have a large number of qualified cadres in different positions to ensure development and progress. But loyalty is a must for promotion, and it later turns into intimate relationship that makes it difficult to enforce the law, because the decision maker fears that officials might get angry at their retiring.
Indeed, the government turned the state into a "fief" and violated the law when it issued decisions to extend the age of retirement, keep some officials in their positions, and did not enforce the judicial rulings.
The government supports some officials sometimes by extending their retirement age and other times by issuing decisions to keep them in their positions. In fact, these officials turned into centers of power and became above the law. In addition, the ruling regime "aged".
The Egyptians were optimistic when Ahmed Nazif became Prime Minister because they felt that new blood would be pumped into the Egyptian leadership. It is suffice to know that former Prime Minister Atef Ebeid is 23 years older than Nazif. We thought that this would be the end, but the government extended the retirement age for the press leadership and violated the law under the pretext of unreasonable reasons. The government also extended, more than once, the age of retirement for judges. I hope the two recent decisions will be the beginning of new concepts to pump new blood and enforce the law. The government should put a stop to the system of the "fief". Officials should leave their post once they reached the age of retirement without scooting around the law by appointing them in other places as a reward. No one knows whether these officials take such a reward because they are efficient or because they are loyal to those who appointed them!
My friend Mustafa Abdel Ghafar, an MP and a journalist in Al-Ghomhuria, asked me about the reasons for selecting a newly-appointed official. He said: "Do you think he was appointed thanks to his efficiency or is this a reward?" I continued to think about the question at hand, but I could not reach an answer. I persist on asking: What are the criteria of appointment in Egypt, is it efficiency or reward? This indicates that Egypt has become two peoples; the first makes every effort and seeks efficiency, while the other follows instructions and looks for a reward. No one, of course, brings officials to book or evaluates their performance. The important thing is to remain in your position, as long as you do not make serious errors causing worry to the government. You can do anything. You can increase your salary, appoint your relatives, and establish legal and illegal relations with other officials to achieve personal benefits. Let the Egyptian people seek for efficiency!
