“May misfortune hit you as you harmed us,” shouted Rida Hassan, a motorbike and spare part shop owner. His frustration was directed at the government’s latest decision to ban imports of motorbikes and tuk-tuks for one year (motorbike parts for three months), because motorbikes were used in recent terrorist operations including the fatal drive-by shooting of policeman  Mustafa Sadeq Amin in Ismaïlia. 

“May misfortune hit you as you harmed us,” shouted Rida Hassan, a motorbike and spare part shop owner. His frustration was directed at the government’s latest decision to ban imports of motorbikes and tuk-tuks for one year (motorbike parts for three months), because motorbikes were used in recent terrorist operations including the fatal drive-by shooting of policeman  Mustafa Sadeq Amin in Ismaïlia. 

Hassan says his sales of motorbikes have decreased by 80 percent, as people and young men in particular have stopped buying them to avoid charges by security services and increased licensing charges. The sales of spare parts have also stopped completely as tens of thousands of motorbikes have been seized by authorities.

This slump has affected not only motorbike dealers, but also the government itself, says Medhat Saiyed, a small importer of motorbikes: “The government has lost tens of millions of dollars in customs fees on imported motorbikes.” One of Saiyed’s cargos from China came to a halt due to the governmental decision, which cost him huge losses and forced him to sack some employees –leaving him unable to pay his rent, he said.  

Government’s gains

Ismaïlia Traffic Department Director Brigadier General Issam Shadi however says the government has gained a lot from this decision: a decrease of accidents caused by motorbikes, a reduction in the amount of motorbikes imported and a significant increase in motorbike licensing rates. His department issued 7,000 motorbike licenses in less than a month after the decision, compared to a monthly average of only 150 licenses prior to the decision.

“Frankly speaking, these vehicles have led us to this terrible situation,” said Shadi, commenting on a view that this decision has harmed a lot of young job-seekers. “Those who have US $5,000 to buy a tuk-tuk are not considered poor and do not deserve pity. They should instead start projects that do not harm national security.”

Unfair decision

Many people do not concur with Shadi’s views. Hammouda Abdulwahab, a law school graduate, looked for a job for years and finally bought a tuk-tuk in instalments, which helped him be able to afford a wedding. He is amazed by Shadi’s comment because the government itself agreed on using motorbikes and tuk-tuks.

Muhssen Ghazlawi says he implored the owner of a tuk-tuk shop to sell him a tuk-tuk immediately after the decision and claimed that the shop owner raised the prices by US $715 and even preferred not to sell the tuk-tuks. Ghazwai believes the owner wants to keep them for a later stage and sell them at an even higher price once they become a rare commodity.

Abdulwahab adds that he personally welcomes the state of law and enforcing it on all people. He even licensed his tuk-tuk four years ago and pays US $172 in annual taxes just like the owners of private cars.

Nasser Sayed, a member of the Motorbike Department in the Chamber of Commerce, says the government is shifting the blame for the latest security crimes onto motorcyclists despite the fact the police’s negligence is to blame. The latest explosions that hit security directorates in Mansoura and Cairo and the military intelligence in Ismaïlia, says Sayed, were all executed through car bombs rather than by using motorbikes.  “The chances of using tuk-tuks in crimes are only one in a thousand,” he concludes.

Sayed and other Motorbike Department members have suggested many alternatives to this decision, which put an end to his motorbike assembly factory in Obour City and led to the sacking of tens of workers and loss of his compay’s foreign partner. The same thing has happened to thousands of importers and manufactures in Egypt, says Sayed.

Some alternatives entail: a tax of  US $14 on every sold motorbike, which would produce an annual amount of no less than US $7,000,000 for the Ministry of Interior; licensing the motorbikes and tuk-tuks immediately by their shops, transferring their ownership through traffic departments and seizing the motorbikes of those who refuse to do so; immediately releasing the seized tuk-tuks; limiting tuk-tuks’ use to rural areas only; and manufacturing them according to international standards.

Real culprit

Major General Magdi Bassyouni Former Assistant to the Minister of Interior does not refute Nasser’s suggestions. The government, says Bassyouni, killed the patient instead of treating his injury. “Terrorist crimes cannot be addressed by banning motorbike imports.”

Bassyouni says that only one person should ride a motorcycle because it is those who ride in the back seat who usually execute terrorist attacks, stressing that motorcycles have become indispensible for all Egyptians in their daily lives. This decision alone, says Bassyouni, would not stop terrorist attacks.