Sisi: Egypt Cabinet reshuffle “very soon”

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will reshuffle his cabinet soon, he told state newspapers in an interview published Tuesday.

“Yes, there will be a reshuffle and very soon … We will fix what needs fixing and improve performance,” Sisi said, without giving more details.

The last cabinet reshuffle took place in March, when Sisi named 10 new ministers including for the finance and investment portfolios.

Egypt is struggling to revive an economy that has been battered by an acute foreign currency crisis since a popular uprising in 2011 drove away tourists and foreign investors.

The central bank floated the pound in November and the government is pushing ahead with painful economic reforms after securing a $12 billion loan programme with the International Monetary Fund in November. These include fuel price hikes and the introduction of a value-added tax (VAT).

Egypt is also battling Islamist insurgents in the Sinai who pledged allegiance to Islamic State in 2014 and are blamed for killing hundreds of Egyptian soldiers and police since then.

Source: Reuters