Egypt’s finance and foreign ministers resigned over the weekend ahead of a sweeping cabinet reshuffle the government is carrying out in an effort to appease an increasingly restless public.
The expected exit of more than half of the country’s ministers comes amid complaints thatEgypt’s interim military rulers have been slow to enact meaningful reforms. Activists charge that the generals have failed to truly dismantle the power structure that remained largely intact when former president Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February.
“We all share a sense that a large number of the cabinet members are not supportive of the revolution,” said prominent activist Hossam Bahgat, director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. He cited the prohibition of labor strikes, the government’s failure to reform its infamous police forces and the anemic state of the welfare system.
Egyptian media outlets have reported that as many as 15 cabinet members could be replaced by Monday.
The reshuffle is likely to leave many here unsatisfied, however, because the justice and interior ministers, among the most divisive figures in the government, are expected to survive the purge, according to the state-run Middle East News Service.
As protests have intensified in recent weeks, activists have been calling for the dismissal of both ministers, citing the sluggish pace of the prosecutions of Mubarak and other regime officials. The Interior Ministry remains a lightening rod because activists say it has done a poor job of holding abusive police officials responsible.
Protesters have increasingly lashed out against the military leaders who just months ago were hailed as heroes for siding with the revolutionaries. On Saturday, a general who went to Tahrir Square to meet with demonstrators left amid boos and jeers.
Outgoing Finance Minister Samir Radwan told Reuters news agency that policymaking had become erratic in the months that followed the sudden fall of Mubarak.
He recently negotiated a $3 billion loan deal with the International Monetary Fund that would have eased some of the cash-strapped government’s most pressing needs. Last month, though, the military council scrapped the deal, saying the country could do without foreign aid.
“People don’t know what they want,” Radwan was quoted as having told Reuters. “Do they want increased expenditure and no borrowing from abroad? Everybody has suddenly become an expert on financial policy. That is not an atmosphere conducive to efficient work.”
Prime Minister Essam Sharaf on Sunday appointed Hazem el-Beblawi to serve as deputy prime minister for economic affairs and finance minister. Sharaf appointed a second deputy prime minister, Ali al-Selmy, to oversee political development and democratic transition. Selmy will be tasked with building democratic institutions as Egypt gears up for parliamentary elections scheduled to take place in the fall.
The appointments follow the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Yehia El-Gammal, who stepped down last week. Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Orabi, a veteran diplomat in the Mubarak regime, resigned Saturday, after less than a month in office.
Egypt experts said it was difficult to assess whether the changes would placate protesters. Although Sharaf is the nominal civilian head of the country, the generals who assumed power after Mubarak’s ouster currently wield near absolute power.
“It is not clear how much power cabinet ministers have in the current situation or whether their replacement will help satisfy protesters’ specific demands,” Elijah Zarwan, a Cairo-based expert at the International Crisis Group said.
Source: www.washingtonpost.com
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