Muslim Brotherhood tried to set up their own statistics, says Egypt’s CAPMAS Chairperson

Cairo – Major General Abu Bakr El-Gendy, Head of the Central Agency for Public Mobilization (CAPMAS), said in an interview with Al-Masry Al-Youm that he served under five different systems, from former President Hosni Mubarak’s regime until sitting President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, stressing that he wanted to maintain the independence of CAPMAS despite the fact that some of the data were not to the liking of many governments.  

Gen. El-Gendy revealed that under former Islamic President Mohamed Morsi, Muslim Brotherhood group requested to establish a private information system inside Egypt’s Presidency.  “This led me to submit my resignation at once,” he added.

[…] We know that your meeting with President Abdel Fattah Sisi was scheduled for half an hour but extended to two hours. Could you tell us about this backstage meeting? Was it upon your request?

The President has a great interest in the national databases.  National censuses provide the largest and most comprehensive database on Egypt’s population and demographics as well as the economic buildings and facilities of various kinds and geographical distribution. All of these are strategic information needed by the government. The President's objective from the meeting was to follow up and review all current procedures and stages of the state-run censuses.

“During the Mubarak era, for example, we sometimes achieved a growth rate of over 7%, but at the same time, inflation rate was higher that had affected the living standards of the less income citizens.  For example, in August 2008, inflation rate boomed to 25.2%, which we openly declared with no diffidence.”

“During the era of the Muslim brotherhood, there was a request to create a mini-informational entity to be affiliated to the presidency in fashion of CAPMAS.  Then I dissuaded the presidential aide from moving on with the request. I told him that our agency is within walking distance of the presidential palace about 800 meters, so there was no need for that at all.”

 […] In previous statements about the actual number of Copts in Egypt, it is reported that you said that none except you and the President do know their number?

- Well, I never said that! The last statistics on the Egyptian classification according to religion “Muslims, Christians and Jews” was in 1986 census when data used to be collected on population on the basis of religion, but in early 1990s, the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) recommended that the question of religion in population census forms (or PSFs) should be optional.

[…] what is the percentage of respondents who refuse to answer the question of religion in the census forms?

- The proportion is clear and considerably high.

[…] Have any of the respondents ever happened to be identified as Buddhist or Baha'i or any other religion?

On the census form sheet, there are only four options to the question of religion as follows: Muslim - Christian-Jewish – Others. That’s all.   

[…] In1960s, there were Egyptian citizens who hold ID cards showing that they were Baha'i. Do we still find that in 2017?

-Back then this was just an individual act, but, to the best of my recollection, our facts and figures did not record such cases in a while.  No further comment.  

[…] Does the census records the number of refugees in Egypt among foreign residents?

-On the census form for immigrants, there are ‘blanks’ to be filled in by the individual immigrant in order to help us identify his/her immigration status type, whether permanent or non-permanent resident, a husband or wife, a family dependent, a student or researcher, a refugee or asylum seeker...etc.

[…] Tell us one of the funniest situations you come across while conducting the census?

There are plenty of them actually. Some people, for example, in some areas insist not to mention their wife’s name to our representative as they consider it a ‘social taboo’ to disclose one’s wife’s name or say in public.

 […] How much do you come across cases of abstinence from answering?

- We have already faced some of those before. Unfortunately, some of the abstaining respondents that we encounter are among the educated persons who are supposed to have awareness of the importance of national census.

When faced with these situations, our representatives tend to deal with it within the scope of the law.  Our representatives hold a judicial warranty to resort to the public prosecutor immediately to handle those cases. The prosecution would order the arrest of the abstainers for trial.  

In this regard, I would like to thank the Attorney General, who sent a directive to all prosecutors to fully cooperate with CAMPAS representatives to confront such individual cases to ensure the completeness and smoothness of the census process.