Egyptian lawmakers are demanding that a fact-finding committee investigate the circumstances of a deadly collision that killed 18 young female farmworkers and injured three others on Friday, intensifying scrutiny of road management and toll revenues.
The victims, aged 14 to 21, were traveling to a grape farm when their microbus collided with a heavy truck on the regional ring road near Ashmoun in Menoufiya governorate.
Labor groups and opposition parties have since called for a full investigation into employer responsibility, working conditions, and state oversight of rural transport for agricultural workers.
On Sunday, Parliament Speaker Hanafy Gebaly opened the session with a moment of silence for those lost, extending his “deepest condolences” on behalf of the entire house. The sentiment was quickly followed by impassioned demands for accountability.
MP Salma Murad of the National Progressive Unionist Rally Party sharply criticized the persistent safety issues plaguing the regional road. “A month ago, I filed an urgent statement about the daily bloodshed on this route. The latest crash broke the heart of the entire republic,” she stated, emphasizing that these young women were “simply trying to earn a living.” Murad went further, urging, “Let’s shut down this road until proper safety measures are completed.”
Meanwhile, Mohamed Badrawy of the Nation’s Future party called for Transport Minister Kamel Al-Wazir to appear before parliament, asserting that his attendance is essential “out of respect for this council and the Egyptian people.”
Adding to the chorus of criticism, Justice Party leader Abdel Moneim Imam questioned public spending priorities and transparency. He highlighted that the road cost over 20.5 billion Egyptian pounds (approximately $412 million) to build.
“The route is riddled with speed bumps and collects millions in tolls. Where has the maintenance money gone over the past eight years?” Imam pressed.
Diaa El-Din Dawood, another Member of Parliament, urged President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to intervene directly and hold negligent officials accountable. “We spent billions building roads and then neglected to maintain or manage them. This isn’t nuclear science. We’ve ignored generations of good practice,” he argued.
Egypt's extensive road network, encompassing critical arteries such as the Cairo-Alexandria Desert Road and the Cairo-Suez Road, relies on a system of direct user fees collected at various tollgates. This mechanism serves as a significant funding source for the nation's transport infrastructure.
Individual toll charges for private vehicles, exemplified by a minimum of 10 pounds on routes like the Cairo-Suez road, contribute to the revenues, which are primarily allocated to the construction, ongoing maintenance, and operational costs of the country's vital road system.
Dawood also pointed to what he described as a “turf war” among agencies and companies responsible for road management. He specifically named “one major company, led by Gen. Magdy Anwar, that handles toll roads,” asking, “Does anyone know where that revenue goes or what maintenance looks like?”
He concluded by emphasizing that the president “must ensure accountability for those who allowed this mismanagement. We didn’t finance these roads with budget surpluses. We borrowed to improve Egyptians’ lives.”
In response, Majority Leader Abdel Hadi El-Qasabi affirmed the council’s commitment to oversight. “This council has never shied from oversight. No one is above the law. We will exercise our full authority,” he stated.
While acknowledging that “there are errors that require accountability,” he also pointed to progress in international road quality rankings. A year ago, a Cabinet report indicated that Egypt had climbed 100 places in a decade to rank 18th globally in road quality, attributing this improvement to the National Roads Project.
Further defending the government’s track record, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Mahmoud Fawzy expressed shared grief with the victims’ families, adding that “no compensation can make up for such a loss.”
He reiterated Egypt’s significant leap from 118th to 18th in the global road quality index, citing the construction of 6,300 km of new roads and upgrades to 8,400 km more, which he claimed contributed to a 30% drop in accident rates.
For his part, MP Alaa Abed, head of parliament’s Transport Committee, highlighted prior requests for briefings regarding the recurring accidents on the Regional Ring Road.
He confirmed that a memorandum had been submitted to the Speaker of the House, advocating for relevant officials to be summoned to reach a consensus on effective road management.
This latest incident is not isolated. Deadly crashes involving female farmworkers have occurred before in Egypt. In May 2024, 17 individuals were killed and eight injured when a minibus returning from Menoufiya fell off a Nile ferry in Abu Ghaleb. Before that, in January 2022, eight young workers died in a similar ferry accident in Giza.
