Ninety-nine percent of collapsed buildings in Cairo had demolition orders that were not implemented due to owners' negligence, said Governor of Cairo Abdel Azim Wazir. The governor added that in most cases the buildings were owned by a group of heirs. Wazir stressed that illegally constructed buildings should be entirely demolished, stressing he will not recognize partial demolitions. Wazir added that he has given heads of districts instructions in this regard. Wazir called on district heads to review all buildings for which demolition orders are final and have them evacuated immediately. District councils in southern Cairo have demolished 73 violating buildings that were still in their preliminary stages of construction in February and March, Wazir added, saying that most of those buildings didn't have demolition orders. He added that the Basateen district restored a 5000-square-meter piece of state-owned land that some individuals had encroached on. Another state-owned piece of land in Moqattam was also recovered after a non-governmental organization attempted to take it over. The building materials were seized and the head of the NGO referred to the Public Prosecution. In other news, Wazir urged district heads to coordinate efforts with both the education directorate and the General Educational Buildings Authority to determine the amount of maintenance required at schools in order to immediately start repair work. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
