Morsi running in the footsteps of Nasser, but only the wrong footsteps.

In my previous posts, I criticized Dr. Morsi for dealing with formalities (namely attending graduation cerimonies) and not working on being a president. Where is the 100 day plan? I asked. Where is the government? I asked. Well Dr. Morsi has finally done it. He has starting choosing his government. And if taking history into account. His choice is a little baffling.

Dr. Hesham Qandil, chosen by Dr. Morsi to be Egypt's Prime Minister 

(Courtesy of Al Masry Al Youm)

Dr. Morsi has chosen the first (and most crucial) member of his cabinet, the prime minister. The prime minister should be a person that has proven themselves in getting things done. We're talking a class A executive. A person that deliver results and leave the planning to others. And who did we get with this choice? Dr. Hesham M. Qandil. Why baffling? We not the choice about who, but more why? I have not seen Dr. Qandil's CV to judge whether or not is he capable of being a top class government executive. But I have questions about the choice.

Now I am feeling a little bit of Deja Vu here and I am specifically referencing a previous government. President Nasser's government. One of the biggest attributes to the previous dictatorship we lived in was that fact that Nasser chose to surround himself with loyalists not experts. And as such Egypt's growth was stunted and theft, nepotism, and bribery grew abound. So is Dr. Morsi's choice based on loyalty or expertise?

Some will say don't judge yet, wait and see. We the issue I have here is that Dr. Qandil has already had a chance to prove himself. He's been the Minister of Irrigation since Dr. Sharaf becoming Prime Minister. So not only is he technically from a pre-morsi cabinet, the one that Dr. Morsi's party the FJP wanted to withdraw confidence from previously, but i don't recall hearing about him or his accomplishments. Again I am not judging Dr. Qandil yet, but the question remains out of 82 million individuals, is this the best Egypt has to offer?

In Summary, Dr. Morsi seems to be making the same mistake that President Nasser made previously by surrounding himself with people of loyalty rather than people of knowledge. Will this lead to the same problems that has stunted Egypt's growth before. To para-quote a famous Indiana Jones movie, "Choose, Morsi. But, choose wisely".

-Amro

PS - Morsi Meter still at ZERO and 24 days have passed

More formalities and Weapons Drills - minipost

Courtesy of AlAhram Online

Once again, our president has been a source of wonder. Again he attends the latest graduation class of the Military College. Really? Is that you major directive? Attend as many graduations as possible?

I just happen to catch the show which was simulcast on Egyptian Satellite Channel, Oula Channel and Nile TV. Because it is that important. *eye roll*

The military "display" during the graduation ceremony seriously made me laugh. From the "weapons display" which was completely out of sync to "power displays" that were devoid of any reality. Now I completely understand why we suck at action films.

Want to see an amazing military display? Click on link

Cool Weapons Drill

Now that's a drill.

I'd love to hear your comments.

Amro

Enough with the formalities, Get with the program Morsi!

Dr. Morsi head to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia to attend the African Union summit. His second visit since heading office. And there is yet to be progress on the 100 day program that is was put into play to help address the immediate needs of the Egyptian people.

Is it me or is there way too much formalities being addressed at the cost of the Egyptian people? Where is the new government? The same government that the Freedom and Justice party, that was headed by Dr. Morsi and that was the parliamentary majority, wanted to withdraw confidence from. Apparently the current government it worthy of confidence, or is it?

It baffles me to a great extent the lack of progress. Where are the promises of great investments that the FJP made? Where is the new constitution? Our neighbor, Libya, not only elected a new parliament, they have also put forth a new constitution. Did they learn from our mistakes? Maybe.

I believe that we need to address the following issues with the new government:

1. Transparency

We need a government that is transparent in their actions, we need a constant stream of updates of their progress. Even if they haven't achieved something, we'd know they are working on it.

2. Improving Quality of Life (QoL)

Quality of life is one of the most important factors that affect people. We are talking about, working with governmental institutions that is made easier and more efficient, Clean environments, encouragement of growth and entrepreneurship, and availability of general goods and accessibility of services.

3. Speed of Action

The previous government (During Mubarak's rule) had many ideas and initiatives, some that would actually do good. However, they always failed in speed of action or even completion. We are still faced with an archaic system that follows the same rules. Today we live life at the the speed of the internet. We have grown impatient at processes that take years to accomplish. We need action and we need it NOW!

4. Long Term Planning

In addition to plans for a better Egypt today, we need to address where will Egypt be in years beyond the government's expiry date. Ten, twenty, even fifty years from now. And more importantly how we can provide better transparency, QoL, and Speed of action in those up coming years.

In Summary, Dr. Morsi should stop enjoying the formalities and get with the action. The people are getting impatient and restless. We need positive steps that the people can feel. I doubt Dr. Morsi would be taking this at a snails pace if he felt a lot more was at risk.

Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot

As many know recently Dr. Morsi has issued a presidential decree that returns the parliament that has been disbanded by the Supreme court. Move considered by many a direct challenge to SCAF. But, what makes this almost comical is that there are many implications that arise out of this. Who's the bad guy, and more importantly is there a bad guy?

Lets look at the Supreme Court for a second. Before Dr. Morsi was elected to power, the supreme court disolved the Egyptian parliament which consisted mostly of islamists from the Freedom and Justice party (FJP) of which Dr. Morsi was president. And, at the same time allowed Air Marshal Ahmed Shafiq to continue in the presidential race. This was considered by many a move to put Shafiq into power and a sign that the Supreme court was was assisting the military in forging the voting results in favor of Shafiq. And as we all know now, that didn't happen. After Dr. Morsi won, it was accepted that the Supreme court did their job without bias and acted in according to law.



Fast forward to earlier this week. It seems that the dissolving of the parliament didn't strike the fancy of Dr. Morsi and decided to flip the bird to the Supreme Court. A move which means that he doesn't agree with the original ruling. So now the Supreme Court are bad guys?



You can't treat the legal system like an a la carte menu. Take what you want and avoid what you don't. Otherwise, what's the point of a legal system. Let's just keep it a dictatorship just like Mubarak. Also, it seems to me that Dr. Morsi is favoring certain people (just like Mubarak) while forgetting to address the people that put him into power (at least Mubarak wasn't chosen by the people).

Look around, I'm still waiting for any of the 64 points on the 100 day plan to be addressed. Still traffic, still dirty, still security issues. From now on anything fucked up that happens I will not address as WTF but more as WTM (What the Morsi)


Amro

New post coming soon

I will be posting a major post today. Sorry for the delay in posts as I have been out of the country and without Internet. On your marks, get set, wait for it....

Amro

Morsi breaks the law. Newton's First Law that is!

Newton's 1st law is the "Law of Inertia" and states:

Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it.

So basically an object in motion continues in motion unless another force affects it. Now we know what the law is. How did Dr. Morsi break it? 


Since Dr. Morsi has been elected into power, many promises have been made, 100 day programs have been planned, and even shows of humility have been staged. This is the 5th day since Dr. Morsi has officially taken office and yesterday and today have read nothing new about him. No new decisions have been taken, no debates have been raised. Why the sudden drop in momentum?

Courtesy of AlMasry AlYoum Online
The only piece of news today was about Dr. Morsi observing the graduation of the latest class from the Naval Academy. Really? Have we achieved everything and now it's time for formalities? Even yesterday, I couldn't find anything important enough to write about! Have the poor been fed, jobs been filled, streets cleaned and bedtime stories read that we have time for formalities ?! If you're working on the "down-low" I believe we need to know. 85 million minus 5 lives (Morsi's family) are at stake here. 
Dr. Morsi, do you realize that this job, we the people, hired you for, isn't an easy job? Do you realize that its a 24 hour a day job? Did you know that you will be losing sleep, friends, time with family? But in return, it comes with great power. Power that should be used to make history! 

Stress is part of the job
When I started this blog, I expected an avalanche of updates, almost to the point I was worried that I wasn't going to be able to keep up. But now, five days in, the MorsiMeter stands at 0/64. If you can't keep up, you shouldn't have applied for the job. 
In Summary (thanks for the correction Sharif), Being the president of Egypt isn't a walk in the park. True there are formalities associated with the job. But priorities should be given to addressing the promises you made, not attending graduation parties. 
Amro

Where's my security Morsi?

During the second phase of the elections, many were shocked that Dr. Morsi and Air Marshal Shafik were the ones to come out on top. Especially Shafiq. One of the main attributes that people attributed that to was his promise to restore security in Egypt within a day. While Dr. Morsi promised security as a part of his 100 day program to tackle five initiatives: Fuel, Traffic, Cleanliness, bread and Security. By, the current headlines it appears that security is on the bottom of the priorities.



One of the biggest security issues being talked about today is the "islamic vice squad" a group of extremests that have caused the death of a student in Suez last week. The student was walking in the street with his "fiance" late at night. Members of the "Islamic vice squad" stabbed the students in a sensitive part of his body causing his death.

Another major issue is the smuggling of arms to sinai. Not to mention the current threat that the sinai peninsula is turning into a haven for outlaws due to the lack of proper security forces there. A situation that is causing the Israeli border forces to be on high alert.

Dr. Morsi, security is a big issue and why it hasn't been addressed as such is a big concern. It is one of the biggest concerns that can win over people. Not appearing in Tahrir square without a bullet-proof vest or a meaningless 15% salary increase for governmental workers (link).

In summery, know where to focus your resources to solve real problems. Not winning a popularity contest. RIP Ahmed Eid, my God give your family the patience to deal with their loss.