The head of the Suez Canal Authority in Egypt announced that Article 43 of the constitution forbids Egypt from selling the Suez Canal.
Rabi explained that under Article 43: “The State undertakes to protect, develop and preserve the Suez Canal as an international waterway belonging to it, and obliges it to develop the canal sector as it is an outstanding economic center.”
According to the speaker of the Egyptian Parliament, the controversial new bill on the Suez Canal does not contain any provisions that could lead to the sale of the Suez Canal, as it is one of the state funds of the state and cannot be disposed of or sold, stressing that “the state – in accordance with article 43 of the Constitution – is obliged to protect, develop and preserve it as an international waterway belonging to Egypt.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has urged the Suez Canal administration to reveal all the facts about the fund’s draft law, which has sparked controversy in the recent period over the sale of the canal’s assets.
On the one hand, the head of the Egyptian administration of the Suez Canal, Osama Rabie, confirmed that the creation of an investment fund for administration would not lead to the loss of Egypt’s sovereignty over the Suez Canal or any of its assets.
“We cannot relinquish sovereignty over the Suez Canal or one of its assets,” Rabih said during a press conference in Ismailia following controversy over the House’s initial approval of the foundation, adding that those assets belong to the people and are protected in accordance with constitution.
Rabei continued his speech by stating that the fund is “an independent organization that has nothing to do with the channel’s assets and intends to invest some of them in the development of the channel and countering emergencies and crises.”
Rabier pointed out: “We will not allow a foreign investor to enter the Suez Canal, and all workers in power are Egyptians, and we will not accept a change in this identity … Sovereignty belongs to the Egyptians, emphasizing that the constitution and the people are those who protect the canal.”
Government draft text: It aims to enable the Suez Canal Authority to carry out all economic and investment activities, including the fund’s contribution, alone or jointly with others, to the creation of companies or the increase of their capital, as well as investment in securities, while allowing the fund buy, sell, lease, lease, operate and benefit from fixed and movable assets.
The law stated that it aimed to establish the Suez Canal Management Fund, which would have an independent legal personality, and its main headquarters was in the province of Ismailia, and it authorized the Board of Directors to establish branches and offices for it in the Arab Republic. Egypt, provided that the statutes of the Foundation are issued by a decision of the President of the Republic on the basis of the proposal of the President of the Administration of the Suez Canal and the approval of the Council of Ministers.
The law included; Determination of the goals of the fund, presented in achieving a contribution to the sustainable economic development of the Suez Canal Authority facility and its development, by enabling the fund to carry out all economic and investment activities, including: the creation of companies, investing in securities, buying, selling, leasing , as well as the operation and use of real and movable property of the fund.
The law determined the authorized capital of the fund in the amount of 100 billion Egyptian pounds, and its issued and paid-up capital in the amount of 10 billion Egyptian pounds. A private law entity, and the fund’s resources come from several sources, namely the fund’s capital, a percentage of the income of the Suez Canal Authority, or the allocation of a portion of the excess funds of the Suez Canal Authority to the fund. after agreement with the Minister of Finance, the return and investment income of the funds of the fund, in addition to other resources that achieve the goals of the fund, are approved by the board of directors and accepted by the prime minister.
Source: RT