Cairo’s new government, led by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, was sworn in before President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at the Presidential Palace in Heliopolis, East Cairo, on Wednesday, July 3, 2024. The new government saw the appointment of 20 new ministers, while about 11 ministers retained their positions after a month of consultations.
The new ministers include Manal Awad – Minister of Local Development, Ahmed Kojak – Minister of Finance, Sherif Fathy – Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Maya Morsy – Minister of Social Solidarity, Sherif Farouk – Minister of Supply and Internal Trade, Osama Al-Azhari – Minister of Religious Endowments, Sameh Al-Hefny – Minister of Civil Aviation, Sherif El-Sherbiny – Minister of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities, Alaa El-Din Farouk – Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Mohamed Ibrahim Shimi – Minister of Public Enterprise Sector, Hassan El-Khatib – Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, Mohamed Gibran Abdel Halim – Minister of Labor, Ahmed Fouad Hanno – Minister of Culture, Mohamed Ahmed Abdel Tayeb – Minister of Education and Technical Education, and Karim Badawy – Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.
Several ministers retained their positions, including Major General Mahmoud Tawfiq as Minister of Interior, Yasmine Fouad for Environment, Amr Talaat for Communications and Information Technology, Ashraf Sobhy for Youth and Sports, Ayman Ashour as Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Mohamed Salah El-Din as Minister of State for Military Production, Hani Sweilem as Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, and Mohamed Ismat as Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy.
Despite the new appointments, the cabinet reshuffle has sparked controversy and raised questions about the backgrounds and previous work of several ministers, including the Minister of Education. There are also questions about the merging of certain ministries, such as Transport and Industry, and the creation of new ones, such as the Ministry of Parliamentary and Legal Affairs and Political Communication.
Appeasing the Creditors
Ahmed Kojak has been appointed the new Minister of Finance, replacing Mohamed Maait, who has held the position since 2018. Kojak, a former economist at the World Bank, is known for his pro-investor stance. Karim Badawy was appointed as Minister of Energy, replacing Tarek El-Molla. Badawy has worked at the American oil services company “Schlumberger” for over 25 years. The new Minister of Investment, Hassan El-Khatib, has held senior positions, including Executive Director at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development from 2012 to 2023.
Amr Abdel Rahman, a member of the Central Committee of the Bread and Freedom Party (under formation), says, “It is clear that the ministers of the economic group were chosen primarily to please a wide network of creditors and surplus money holders, particularly the Gulf states. This is in addition to attempting to re-sell the plan that the regime has been working on for more than a year, which revolves around more borrowing and attracting more Gulf capital, especially after the Ras El-Hikma deal and flotation decisions.”
According to Abdel Rahman, this is evident in the selection of the Minister of Finance, who previously worked with the International Monetary Fund and was responsible for managing government debt operations within the ministry. The selection of the Minister of Investment, who came from one of the largest private investment funds in the world, and even the Minister of Supply, who came from the banking sector, among others, indicates that their selection was to implement the same policy of offering government treasury bills, restructuring support, converting it to cash support or gradually eliminating it, and lifting support for fuels and electricity, etc.
He adds that the remaining ministerial positions were chosen based on one criterion: loyalty. For example, the selection of Badr Abdel Aty as Foreign Minister indicates that the state wants loyalty from its ministers only, despite allegations of corruption linked to him that were reported in some newspapers. “Yet, he was chosen, bypassing several competent individuals within the diplomatic corps, in sensitive circumstances, where selection criteria should have been different; they sufficed with loyalty only.”
Badr Abdel Aty, who has held several positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 1991, was linked to reports of an Administrative Control Authority raid on the Egyptian embassy in Berlin in April 2017 and a raid on Abdel Aty’s residence to investigate him for wasting embassy possessions, reportedly including a heritage carpet and an oil painting, valued at a quarter million euros. Additionally, he allegedly bought a Mercedes car at the embassy’s expense but registered it in his name.
In contrast, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry denied allegations of dismissing its ambassador to Germany, Badr Abdel Aty, over embezzlement charges. It stated that in response to what some newspapers and news websites reported from anonymous sources about irregularities at Egypt’s embassy in Berlin and its routine regulatory procedures, it firmly denies any allegations of embezzlement against its ambassador in Berlin or registering one of the embassy’s cars in his name.
Foreign newspapers had reported on Egyptian politicians and human rights activists in Germany describing the Egyptian embassy in Berlin under “Abdel Aty” as operating like a secret security apparatus. These reports cited the case of the well-known Egyptian researcher Ismail Alexandrani, who was arrested upon his return to Egypt after visiting Berlin for academic research. These accusations increased with the arrest of an employee with dual German-Egyptian nationality working in the office of German Chancellor Angela Merkel on charges of spying for Egyptian intelligence in July 2020.
Merging Ministries
The new Madbouly government has merged four ministries: the Ministry of Planning with the Ministry of International Cooperation, headed by Rania Al-Mashat; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the Ministry of Immigration, headed by Ambassador Badr Abdel Aty; the Ministry of Transport with the Ministry of Industry, headed by Major General Kamel El-Wazir, who also serves as Deputy Prime Minister; and the trade sector with the Ministry of Investment.
Researcher and economist Elhami El-Merghany, a member of the political bureau of the Popular Alliance Party, says that merging the Ministries of Planning and International Cooperation into one ministry is a positive direction, achieving integration between investment planning and its financing. This was also the case in previous periods under Fayza Aboulnaga in Ahmed Shafiq’s government after the January 2011 revolution. However, some mergers will not achieve the desired results, such as merging the Ministries of Foreign Trade and Investment despite their different tasks and functions.
Regarding the merger of the Ministries of Transport and Industry, El-Merghany says these ministries are the backbone of development. It would have been better to separate the Ministry of Industry from the Ministry of Foreign Trade and make each an independent ministry with a dedicated minister. Merging them with the Ministry of Transport weakens their role and importance, making them merely an annex to the Ministry of Transport with divergent goals and purposes. “We need a comprehensive vision for industrial development and manufacturing in Egypt; Egypt needs an independent Ministry of Industry, not a second wife attached to the Ministry of Transport.”
El-Merghany concludes that all changes in the cabinet are superficial. They rely on changing individuals while maintaining policies, thus perpetuating the crisis. The primary goal should have been to overcome the crisis and seek innovative solutions outside the box and traditional solutions, which means changing policies, not people.
Minister of Health Khaled Abdel Ghaffar has assumed the position of Deputy Prime Minister for Human Development, while Minister of Transport Kamel El-Wazir has taken on the role of Deputy Prime Minister for Industrial Affairs.
El-Wazir revealed his plan for the Ministries of Transport and Industry in the coming period, stating that he will divide his day between the two ministries, from 8 am to 3 pm at the Ministry of Industry and from 3 pm to 10 pm at the Ministry of Transport. This plan was met with public ridicule on various social media platforms.
Lack of Transparency and Information
Journalist and politician Khaled Dawoud believes that reappointing Madbouly as Prime Minister despite the crises during his tenure indicates no changes, which is what practically happened. He adds, “There is a lack of information, no transparency, and a disconnect between what happens and the public. We do not know who was replaced in the ministry, the reasons for their removal, and the criteria for selecting new ministers.”
Dawoud expresses concern about private interests dominating critical sectors such as education and health. He notes that the new Minister of Education’s experience is centered around managing a “group of schools,” which could lead to further confusion under the guise of development. He asserts that ministries in Egypt are merely executive secretariats for President Sisi, the real decision-maker. The lack of transparency and decision-making opacity also applies to the governorate movements, dominated by military positions.
Under the title “Is Cardiff City University, from which the new Egyptian Minister of Education obtained his doctorate, real or fake?” the fact-checking initiative “Fact Check in Arabic” revealed that the doctorate mentioned in the new Minister of Education, Mohamed Abdel Latif’s CV, supposedly obtained from Cardiff City University in the United States, is fake. According to the initiative, the university (Cardiff City in the United States) and its website are fake, issuing fake certificates without any campus or academic staff. Fake universities are usually companies without campuses or faculties, offering unrecognized certificates.
Women’s and Christian Representation
Activists and followers on social media questioned the representation of women and Christians in the new cabinet. Some considered the representation of women weak in the new formation; the number of ministerial portfolios held by women decreased to only four ministries. Rania Al-Mashat assumed the position of Minister of Planning and Economic Development and International Cooperation, Maya Mors
y took over as Minister of Social Solidarity, Yasmine Fouad remained as Minister of Environment, and Manal Awad Mikhail was appointed as Minister of Local Development. The new cabinet also revealed the appointment of five women as deputy ministers. However, in terms of Christian representation, there was only one Christian minister, Manal Awad Mikhail, in the new cabinet.
In this context, Mona Ezzat, a consultant for economic empowerment and gender, and the chairwoman of the board of trustees of the Noon Foundation for Family Care, says that while the number of women in the new government is less than its predecessor, there are three women in non-traditional and unusual ministries for women, such as international cooperation, local development, and environment. The Minister of Social Solidarity was the head of the National Council for Women and has long experience in dealing with international mechanisms and women’s issues, which is significant for working in this ministry.
Regarding Christian representation, Ezzat stresses that the more the government reflects the diversity of Egyptian society, the better it exemplifies the idea of citizenship and justice for all societal diversities. She emphasizes the need for the government to announce its strategy and work plan for the coming period to the public, adhering to principles of transparency and participation.
According to the Egyptian constitution and the law governing the House of Representatives, Article 146 of the constitution stipulates that “the President of the Republic shall appoint the Prime Minister, tasking him with forming the government and presenting his program to the House of Representatives. If his government does not obtain the confidence of the majority of the House of Representatives’ members within 30 days, the President of the Republic shall appoint a Prime Minister nominated by the party or coalition holding the majority of seats in the House of Representatives. If his government does not obtain the confidence of the majority of the House of Representatives’ members within 30 days, the House of Representatives shall be considered dissolved, and the President of the Republic shall call for the election of a new House of Representatives within 60 days from the date of the dissolution decision.”
As Egyptians continue to face escalating economic and social crises, the selection of Madbouly’s ministers leaves them in muted anger, awaiting positive changes to reflect on their deteriorating conditions.
