Egypt’s Communications Minister, Amr Talaat, faces an urgent inquiry by lawmakers this evening after a major fire at the Ramses telecom exchange in central Cairo plunged much of the nation into digital darkness.
The blaze, which erupted on Monday night on the seventh floor of the 10-story building, has severely disrupted digital services across the country and sparked intense parliamentary debate regarding national infrastructure and governmental accountability.
The inferno caused extensive damage to main servers and crucial cabling infrastructure, leaving numerous Egyptians without internet access or essential digital banking services.
The Ministry of Health reported 27 injuries, primarily due to smoke inhalation, and confirmed four fatalities.
“This is a disaster by all measures,” declared MP Amr Darwish, calling for an immediate fact-finding committee and demanding accountability at the highest echelons of government. “We’ve heard non-stop slogans about digital transformation, but what happened shows there’s no real infrastructure behind them.”
Frustration permeated the parliamentary session as lawmakers decried what they described as governmental negligence and mismanagement. Several MPs pressed Minister Talaat to explain how a central, supposedly “out of service” facility could erupt in flames and cause such widespread disruption.
The inferno crippled internet, telecommunications, and digital payment systems nationwide, causing significant delays in banking operations, stock trading platforms, mobile networks, and even Cairo’s metro system.
The pervasive smoke also seeped into nearby subway lines, raising additional safety concerns for commuters.
Mahmoud Fawzy, Minister of Parliamentary and Legal Affairs and Political Communication, defended the outage as a preventative measure. “The state chose to cut service to protect the rest of the network and limit the damage,” he told Parliament, assuring MPs that all affected records had backup data and that full service was expected to resume by Tuesday afternoon.
Minister of Parliamentary and Legal Affairs Mahmoud Fawzy during the Parliament's general session. July 8, 2025.However, his assurances did little to quell the outrage. MPs Ahmed Farghaly and Diaa El-Din Dawood were among those who accused the government of systemic failure. “This is a full-blown interrogation. I rejected this cabinet before, and now I demand its resignation,” stated Farghaly unequivocally.
Dawood echoed the call for resignation, branding the current administration a “government of fires” and lambasting the timing of the disaster. He urged Parliament not to adjourn until the findings of the Ramses fire investigation were announced. “How did such a compounded government failure happen?” he queried.
“This government has gotten used to lying to the Egyptian people,” Dawood continued, his voice rising. “We’ve spent trillions on this country—when will those responsible be held accountable? When will the government show up and present a real report?”
With elections looming, Dawood questioned the government’s credibility. “What will we tell people as we head to the polls? Is this the same government that just won Parliament’s confidence? Even in the final hours of this legislative session, this paralyzed cabinet must be held to account.”
MP Ahmed Khalil Khairallah underscored the severity of the incident: “Egypt ground to a halt yesterday. We talk about governance and Vision 2030, but the reality is, the whole country runs on a single exchange.”
Speaker Hanafy El Gebaly concluded the heated session by referring all statements to the Communications Committee, which is scheduled to meet urgently with Minister Talaat later today.
Preliminary investigations cited by Sky News Arabia suggest an electrical short circuit may have ignited the blaze. Forensic teams are continuing their examination of the site.
