President Abdel Fattah El Sisi put an end to the nationwide row about amendments to the property registration law this week by postponing their enforcement for two years.
The president took the decision in order to open the door to public debate on whether the amendments can be applied as they are or be changed.
The amendments, which should have come into force as of today, stirred controversy over the cost of registration at property registry offices.
The complexity of registration itself and making it a prerequisite for the delivery of utilities would indeed be fearsome prospects.
The president also approved this week a set of legislation regulating the work of the Senate.
The laws mandate the Senate, the second chamber of the Egyptian parliament, to strengthen democracy, support political competition, empower women and youth, and enhance social peace.
The laws also make it necessary for the Senate to support the principles of citizenship, social peace, boost freedom of speech and fight all forms of discrimination and major crimes such as terrorism.
The Senate also has the right to express opinions on proposed amendments to the constitution, approve social and economic development plans, and reconciliation and alliance treaties with other countries.
President Sisi this week also underscored the importance of the presence of a fair and binding deal on Ethiopia’s River Nile dam.
He added at a press briefing following his meeting with the President of Guinea Bissau Umaro Sissoco Embaló in Cairo on Thursday that the agreement should serve the interests of downstream states.
President Sisi also mourned the head of the Committee on Defense and National Security in the House of Representatives Kamal Amer, who died on Thursday.
“I lost a teacher and a commander,” the president tweeted on Thursday.
