Social Solidarity Ministry closes 75 NGOs, 121 childcare centers in Beheira

The Ministry of Social Solidarity has closed 75 NGOs and 121 childcare centers and nurseries in the Nile Delta Governorate of Beheira this week.

Mohamed al-Deeb, a senior official from the Ministry of Social Solidarity, told the state-owned Al-Ahram news portal that the “75 NGOs were ordered to be shut down and liquidated as they were linked to the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood organization.”

Deeb further claimed that the NGOs were not fulfilling the functions for which they were formally established.

The 121 childcare centers were closed for being “unauthorized” and “lacking basic childcare facilities,” according to a statement from the ministry.

Deeb did not provide the names of any of the NGOs or childcare centers which had been closed and the official website of the Ministry of Social Solidarity makes no mention of the latest 196 closures and liquidations.

In an interview with the privately-owned Al-Fagr news portal on Tuesday, Deeb stated that seven of the 75 NGOs will be allowed to continue operating under the oversight of caretaker administrative committees which are being appointed by ministerial officials, “in light of the services which they provide to the local populace.”  Further, he claimed that 11 of the closed nurseries were found to be affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. The ministry’s local bureau has submitted criminal charges to the office of the prosecutor general to prosecute these nurseries.

Deeb further claimed in the interview that "the [Beheira] governorate is now free of any associations which receive foreign-funding.”

It is not known if the ministry will be providing state-sponsored nurseries, childcare centers or services to replace the services offered by the 121 nurseries.  

The ministry’s media spokesperson could not be reached for questions or clarifications at the time of publication.

The latest closures raise the total tally of NGOs shuttered upon the Ministry of Social Solidarity’s orders to well over 500 since 2014.

The closures have been legally and judicially enforced under the parameters established by a Cabinet decree issued on December 25, 2013, which classified the once-ruling Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. The Ministry of Social Solidarity has presided over the dissolution of NGOs, expropriating their properties and funds, which it then funnels into its own budget, specifically into the ministerial fund to support legally-recognized civil society associations.

Following the ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013, increasing restrictions have been imposed on NGOs and other civil society organizations.

Even NGOs with no Brotherhood affiliations have reported increased governmental interference in their affairs, while government officials have reportedly begun investigating the functions of others.

Critics claim that the recent NGO regulations – which have been widely condemned by rights groups for their restrictions on foreign funding – have caused some civil society organizations to reduce their budgets and downsize their staff, while others have been compelled to relocate their offices outside of Egypt. Some NGO-issued publications have been confiscated by authorities, while other similar publications have been pushed out of circulation as a result of the state’s regulations.