OCI’s Pending Tax Disputes May Oust Egypt Finance Minister – Sources
Egypt’s imminent cabinet reshuffle will be “limited” with “some” ministerial changes and will be announced on Saturday April 27th, reliable sources from the government confirmed. Some reports claimed that the finance minister will depart the Egyptian government due to Orascom Construction Industries’ long-standing tax disputes.
The government sources said the Prime Minister has met with President Mohamed Morsi Wednesday evening so as to discuss the new cabinet reshuffle to include a number of ministries, notably Ministry of Justice after Ahmed Mekki had tendered his resignation a week earlier.
The sources further noted that the cabinet reshuffle is likely to affect 4 portfolios of Kandil’s government. The reshuffle would very likely affect one of the economic portfolios; the current Investment Minister Osama Saleh. However, there were reports saying the reshuffle would presumably topple Oil Minister Osama Saleh as the country’s diesel crisis still bites.
Meanwhile, other sources from government elaborated that Finance Minister Al-Morsi Hegazy is likely to leave driven by his abject failure to settle pending tax disputes with a number of prominent firms, notably Orascom Construction Industries (OCIC.CA) which faces tax evasion claims of more than EGP 10 billion.
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi said on Saturday he planned to reshuffle his cabinet in a move that could help build political consensus around a $4.8 billion loan Cairo is seeking from the International Monetary Fund.
Morsi’s opponents have been demanding the formation of a new government to oversee parliamentary elections expected to begin later this year. The United States, a major donor to Cairo, has grown more critical of Morsi of late, listing a lack of political inclusivity as one of its concerns.
The IMF has stressed the need for broad support for a loan agreement seen as vital to easing Egypt’s economic crisis but which is also likely to bring with it politically-sensitive austerity measures such as tax increases and subsidy cuts.
