Mohamed Mursi
Egypt may replace up to 8 ministers next week
Cairo, December 27, 2012
Egypt's prime minister may replace as many as eight ministers next week as part of President Mohamed Mursi's plan to reshuffle the government ahead of a parliamentary election early next year, cabinet sources told Reuters on Thursday.
The reshuffle is likely to affect service ministries and possibly one ministry with an economics portfolio, the sources said.
The service ministries that may be reshuffled include those of communications, transport, local development, electricity, petroleum, supplies, and internal trade, they said, adding between six and eight ministries were likely to be affected.
Meanwhile, an Islamist cabinet member resigned on Thursday, saying he disagreed with the slow pace of reform, in a move that highlighted growing divisions in the crisis-hit government.
It was the second resignation in Egypt's cabinet since Communications Minister Hany Mahmoud quit citing his "inability to adapt to the government's working culture".
Mohamed Mahsoub, a member of a centrist party which has recently backed Mursi, said he was resigning from his post as minister for parliamentary affairs because he believed the government needed to change more radically.
"I have reached a clear conclusion that a lot of the policies and efforts contradict with my personal beliefs and I don't see them as representative of our people's aspirations," Mahsoub said in a resignation letter published on his Wasat Party's Facebook page.
He added that Egypt needed "radically different policies and methods". - Reuters
