Developing Upper Egypt is one of the most important challenges facing the next President of Egypt, after the country's first real presidential elections. Egyptians want a leader who can achieve their dreams; Upper Egyptians want a president who can give them new jobs, schools and hospitals for the poor, and a higher standard living. Upper Egypt includes eight governorates: Assiut, Sohag, Beni Sueif, Fayoum, Qena, Aswan, Luxor and el-Minya. There are about 31 million citizens are living in these governorates, 68 per cent of them below the poverty line, according to reports. Luxor and Aswan governorates have suffered a decline in tourism, especially after the revolution, affecting people's incomes there, while the other governorates are facing poverty, illiteracy, unemployment and increasing child disease because healthcare has been neglected. “For years, Egyptians have been migrating from Upper Egypt to Cairo and Alexandria in search of jobs, but this has led to overpopulation in these big cities. “This migration has been increasing since the revolution, because of the lack of production and growing unemployment in Upper Egypt,” says Samia el-Gendi, a professor of sociology at Helwan University, adding that Upper Egypt's governorates should be one of the priorities of the next President. “The presidential candidates have given the citizens of Upper Egypt a lot of promises. The new President must give them a better life and more jobs,” she told The Egyptian Gazette. Prof. Samia explained that most of the candidates have promised to develop Lake Nasser, as well as industry and agriculture in Upper Egypt, in order to raise the standard of living of its people. “Upper Egyptians no longer want to live in poverty and humiliation. The next president must support Upper Egypt, establishing new projects there and reclaiming agricultural land, in order to reduce the high rate of poverty,” she added. “Developing Upper Egypt must be the top priority of the next President and Government. The people need to feel that the old regime has changed completely and the new regime will give them a better future,” says Fathi Meselhi, a regional development expert with the National Planning Centre. “He should start with Upper Egypt, which a dictator ignored for 30 years. New development projects should be established in southern Upper Egypt, as many studies show that the Delta is less suitable for such projects. “Young people should be given new flats, while industrial cities should be built in the desert there, in order to create new jobs for them. “Agriculture should also be developed, as most Upper Egyptians depend on it for their livelihood, but it doesn't provide them with sufficient income. “There is a shortage of water, so new methods of irrigation should be developed for agricultural land. Local markets should also be developed and transportation upgraded,” he stresses. “Social justice should be applied everywhere in Egypt, especially after our great revolution,” says Ola Soleiman el-Hakim, a professor of regional economy and former director of National Planning Institute. “The old Government was only interested in establishing projects in the new cities and Cairo, neglecting Upper Egypt. “Today, the new Government should try and solve all the Upper Egyptian's problems, ending the unemployment there and developing healthcare, education and housing. All this needs co-operation between the new Government and NGOs,” she stresses.
