A New National Council for the Hand
A New National Council for the Handicapped is Established
The Council
The Prime Minister issued Decree No. 410 of 2012 (Egyptian Gazette, Issue No. 90 (bis), April 18th, 2012) establishing the “National Council for the Handicapped” in order for it to be the national entity responsible for the handicapped in Egypt. The Decree defines the handicapped – in Article One – as “those who have a mental handicap or one pertaining to movement, hearing, sight, or any other handicap stated in international treaties to which the Arab Republic of Egypt is a party”
The Board of Directors
The Council is managed by a Board of Directors chaired by the Prime Minister and including eight Ministers (Planning, Social Insurance, Education, Higher Education, Local Development, Finance, Health, and Labor), the General Secretary of the National Council for Women, the Head of Medical Services in the Armed Forces, the Chairman of the Union of NGOs, three members representing NGOs active in the defending the rights of the handicapped, and four public personalities active in the subject. The Council shall have a General Secretary who shall be a member of its Board.
Functions of the Council
The Decree states many functions for the Council, the most important of which are the following:
- To ensure that provisions of international treaties concerning the handicapped are applied.
- Directing the Health Insurance Authority to provide medical services to the handicapped for free.
- Monitoring the application of the legal provisions concerning the allocation of 5% of all jobs to the handicapped and ensuring that this is increased to 7%.
- Building a data base on the handicapped in Egypt.
- Propose policies and legislation that would benefit the handicapped.
- Receiving complaints from the handicapped.
Comment
Caring for the handicapped and looking after their rights is an indication of the advancement and civility of any society and the importance accorded by the State to ensuring that they are an active component of society, and beneficiaries of full citizenship rights, particularly education, health and work.
This would have a positive impact on the economy as well in societies which take the subject seriously, where the handicapped became an integral part of the nation’s productive capital and they are allocated a percentage share in the labor market, and companies which employ them may obtain tax or other benefits.
However, whereas the establishment of the new National Council for the Handicapped seems like it is serving this noble purpose, in reality looking carefully at the provisions of the Decree mentioned above reveals that this will be yet another bureaucratic layer, to be added to previous committees and councils, and will have little impact on the handicapped.
The Council is managed by a Board composed of twenty four members – alone a reason to ensure its ineffectiveness – and is headed by the Prime Minister and includes another eight Ministers, which means that it is in reality a ministerial committee, unlikely to dedicate the time needed for its important task. Moreover, the Council may have an objective, but it has no powers or authority to implement them.
The result is that we are facing a new Council established for political and media consumption but with no real prospect in having an impact on the lives of the handicapped or on their active social and economic participation in society. The Council
needs to be reviewed.
The Council
The Prime Minister issued Decree No. 410 of 2012 (Egyptian Gazette, Issue No. 90 (bis), April 18th, 2012) establishing the “National Council for the Handicapped” in order for it to be the national entity responsible for the handicapped in Egypt. The Decree defines the handicapped – in Article One – as “those who have a mental handicap or one pertaining to movement, hearing, sight, or any other handicap stated in international treaties to which the Arab Republic of Egypt is a party”
The Board of Directors
The Council is managed by a Board of Directors chaired by the Prime Minister and including eight Ministers (Planning, Social Insurance, Education, Higher Education, Local Development, Finance, Health, and Labor), the General Secretary of the National Council for Women, the Head of Medical Services in the Armed Forces, the Chairman of the Union of NGOs, three members representing NGOs active in the defending the rights of the handicapped, and four public personalities active in the subject. The Council shall have a General Secretary who shall be a member of its Board.
Functions of the Council
The Decree states many functions for the Council, the most important of which are the following:
- To ensure that provisions of international treaties concerning the handicapped are applied.
- Directing the Health Insurance Authority to provide medical services to the handicapped for free.
- Monitoring the application of the legal provisions concerning the allocation of 5% of all jobs to the handicapped and ensuring that this is increased to 7%.
- Building a data base on the handicapped in Egypt.
- Propose policies and legislation that would benefit the handicapped.
- Receiving complaints from the handicapped.
Comment
Caring for the handicapped and looking after their rights is an indication of the advancement and civility of any society and the importance accorded by the State to ensuring that they are an active component of society, and beneficiaries of full citizenship rights, particularly education, health and work.
This would have a positive impact on the economy as well in societies which take the subject seriously, where the handicapped became an integral part of the nation’s productive capital and they are allocated a percentage share in the labor market, and companies which employ them may obtain tax or other benefits.
However, whereas the establishment of the new National Council for the Handicapped seems like it is serving this noble purpose, in reality looking carefully at the provisions of the Decree mentioned above reveals that this will be yet another bureaucratic layer, to be added to previous committees and councils, and will have little impact on the handicapped.
The Council is managed by a Board composed of twenty four members – alone a reason to ensure its ineffectiveness – and is headed by the Prime Minister and includes another eight Ministers, which means that it is in reality a ministerial committee, unlikely to dedicate the time needed for its important task. Moreover, the Council may have an objective, but it has no powers or authority to implement them.
The result is that we are facing a new Council established for political and media consumption but with no real prospect in having an impact on the lives of the handicapped or on their active social and economic participation in society. The Council
needs to be reviewed.