Meritocracy vs. Trustocracy.

By: Ahmed ELNAHAS – Castelfiorentino, January 15^th 2013.

Mohamed Ali Pasha is the last known (un) Egyptian ruler governing his small empire through ministers, counselors, officials and agents chosen by the criteria of their Personal Merits and Professional Competences. This explains in full his devoted engagement to encourage education and to finance tens of scholarships to European Universities and specialised Technical Schools for those proven brilliant in their studies; so that they would return with modern knowledge and apply new technologies to develop Egypt. His plans succeeded well and in full: Egypt flourished during his era.

Nevertheless, the high hopes he treasured for Egypt, left to his dynasty, were never destined to materialise. As sons usually can rarely and hardly keep their fathers’ tracks, to maintain – not to develop – their deeds, his offspring chain did exactly that and drove Egypt to the climax of its ruin translated by the 1952 coup. All because gradually and constantly each one of his successors, lacking the vision great leaders usually have, surrendered to the glow of wealth and fame; and satisfied their ego by the flattering hypocrisies composed by profiteering courtesans. That is how they allowed the wrong advises and misleading opinions of their ‘trusted’ entourage season their judgements.

Ever since then, and I must say also sad to observe until today, Egypt kept the tradition of placing the trusted, never the deserving, on the helm of governance.. Thus, the imperative of Merit for good governance, rule and management vanished from our institutions leaving the floor to the demerits of Trust. A trust measured only through the expressive parameters of loyalty.

Consequently, as Trustocracy has conquered the realm of Meritocracy, it was inevitable that a corroding silent virus could promptly find its fertile habitat in which to live, feed and grow. That virus hits ferociously in the first place the nervous system and vital centres in the brain of his target prey, before feeding his way all through the entire body taking one organ at the time. Finally, the entire body of the prey would become helplessly contaminated and hopelessly condemned.

The virus’ name, according to scientific vernacular, is Corruption. Yet high-ranking officials and politicians employ modern interpretations to place it as a shade under the umbrella of Business Enhancement Incentives, while lower grade beneficiaries would arrogantly name it Social Solidarity.

So I will not ask how a person, of much dubious international connections like Manlio Cerroni, was able to monopolise the waste collection, disposal and dumping businesses of a largely populated area as the Great Cairo District with its four major metropolis. Where every day, each ton of urban waste that he handles pours 50€ in his pockets, and each ton of special waste adds to his profits 150€*; obviously the answer is Corruption. Same as he did in 96 countries around our globalised planet, building his empire upon the 144 official dumping grounds that only God knows on which fertile terrains they were offered, and what lethal poisons lies underneath each of them.

It does not matter much if he is actually under arrest in Italy, for various financial delinquencies involving his activities in the waste business, accused of bribing government officials and tax evasion. What matter is that Italian and European authorities are thoroughly investigating his involvement in Toxic Waste dumping in his grounds at Southern Italy and ELSEWHERE!

I am very much worried about the elsewhere bit.. Are you not?

Pass On The Word.

*Great Cairo District produces daily little over 12500 tons of Urban Domestic/Organic Waste, 15860 tons of industrial waste, 7680 tons of Medical/Clinical waste. There is no available data concerning Special/Toxic Waste (i.e. Radioactive, Military, Petro-Chemical, Pharmaceutical..etc).