Egypt’s new Cabinet was sworn in before President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at the Presidential Palace Saturday morning. Ministers of foreign affairs, defense, interior, justice and finance have their office remained.
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However, in recent months, local media had criticized his government for alleged incompetence and involvement of some of its members in corruption.
The accusations stood in contrast to coverage of El-Sissi, the former general and defence minister who led the overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in 2013.
The government is headed by Sherif Ismail, a former oil minister, and includes 14 newcomers. Egypt’s governments in the past have been mired with corruption allegations and has been in turmoil since the 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak.
Sisi has also restructured the Cabinet, merging several ministries and forming a new body responsible for immigration, according to the Middle East News Agency.
Egypt is preparing for parliamentary elections, slated to take place in two phases between 17 October and 2 December.
Separately yesterday, Sisi appointed a new state prosecutor, Nabil Sadiq, to replace Hisham Barakat, who was killed in a auto bombing in June. 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.
Former Prime minister Ibrahim Mehleb, was appointed as the President’s advisor for national projects.
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“For four months I have done all I can to improve the company’s performance… but I have faced many stumbling blocks and difficulties”, he said in his resignation letter, seen by Reuters.
