Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi swore in a new government yesterday that included 16 new ministers, a week after the previous administration resigned following a corruption scandal.
Sharif Ismail, who served as minister of petroleum and mineral resources in the last Cabinet, was sworn in as prime minister in a ceremony shown on state television.
The ministers of foreign affairs, defense, interior, justice and finance have kept their positions in the new cabinet.
Former prime minister Ibrahim Mahlab’s government resigned on Saturday last week, days after the arrest of minister of agriculture and land reclamation Salah el-Din Helal as part of a corruption probe.
It had also come under growing criticism for delays in economic projects.
A senior government official had told media the reshuffle, the first major shake-up since al-Sisi won elections last year, was meant to “pump new blood” into the government.
Ismail is seen as a veteran technocrat with experience in state-owned oil companies before he joined the cabinet in 2013.
The new cabinet consists of 16 new ministers and sees four ministries axed, the presidency said in a statement. The state news agency had reported 15 new ministers.
There had been growing calls for Mahlab’s resignation and increasing protests by civil servants over a new law that centralizes promotions while taxing bonuses.
Mahlab quit as Egypt prepares to hold long-delayed legislative elections in two phases between Oct. 17 and Dec. 2.
The elections had initially been scheduled for early this year, but were canceled by a court on technical grounds.
Mahlab, who had headed the Arab Contractors construction firm, had been appointed by Egyptian interim president Adly Mansour in March last year, less than a year after the army led by then minister of defense al-Sisi toppled former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi.
Morsi’s removal and detention unleashed a deadly crackdown on militants that killed hundreds of protesters and the army has struggled to quash a militant insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula.
The government had enjoyed support in the face of militants who have killed hundreds of soldiers, but in recent months had come under fire for corruption and the unpopular civil service law.
There has also been growing discontent over a rise in food prices and slashes to a generous fuel subsidy system as al-Sisi pushes to narrow a budget deficit.
Al-Sisi has been able to pass decrees virtually unchecked in the absence of a parliament, including the subsidy cuts that previous governments had shirked to avoid unrest.
The new parliament, expected to begin work by the end of the year, is to review those laws.
However, it is unlikely to present the president with any sustained opposition and is likely to be dominated by al-Sisi loyalists and weak and fractured political parties that have generally backed him.
The previous parliament, elected in 2011 after an uprising ousted veteran president Hosni Mubarak, had been dominated by Morsi’s now blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood movement.
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