What also greatly arrests the attention is the rise in the value of urban lands, especially in Cairo and Alexandria. The following facts make detailed explanation unnecessary. The land on which the British Agency was built was purchased about twenty-six years ago for twenty-six piasters per meter, and recently, land in its immediate vicinity was sold for twenty Egyptian pounds per meter. I have been informed that many sales have taken place in areas closer to the city center at prices exceeding 400 pounds per meter. God bless him, he made an exceptional case for 130 pounds per meter. Similar examples can be cited for Alexandria. The natural consequence of this was that low-income earners were forced to live in the suburbs, and the government had to build some houses and rent them to those who needed them. However, land values in the suburbs also rose significantly. I will not offer an opinion on whether current prices will remain as they are, but there is no doubt that much of the suburban land was purchased.

I take this opportunity to make some observations on the issue of employees, especially the English, who enrich themselves, whether through land or other means. There has been much discussion about whether laws should be enacted on this matter, and the situation here is very similar to Cairo. How many of the "kothranat" (a term likely referring to speculative ventures or investments) - everyone knows that this latter type of gambling is forbidden, yet no one has yet been able to devise a satisfactory way to put an end to it. Similarly, everyone likely knows that government employees should not be harmed, and it is almost impossible to enact laws that prevent speculation. However, in many cases, it is permissible in practice. Therefore, the issue of laws has been abandoned, and it is easy to determine whether it is permissible for him, as a government employee, to engage in a private financial transaction. If he is informed, he must consult his department head and act according to his advice. In 1924, specific experiments were conducted that made English employees in Egypt exposed. Many of them believe that they have made great profits in the past few years. They may (and perhaps their thoughts are tinged with some pain, of course) believe that most of this wealth resulted from their hard work and effort. However, they do not share in the benefits that others enjoy; on the contrary, they see their modest salaries remaining as they were, while their great expenses have increased significantly from all sides. Then they look around and find that they are intermediaries through which they can increase their income, so they are tempted to follow suit.