President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday swore in 10 new ministers in a cabinet reshuffle, as Egypt struggles to revive an economy battered by falling tourism revenues and foreign investments. The government shake-up - mainly of economic portfolios - comes just six months after Sisi inaugurated a new administration led by Prime Minister Sharif Ismail, following the resignation of the previous cabinet which was hit by a corruption scandal.
The ministers of tourism, finance, investment, justice, civil aviation, irrigation, human resource, antiquities and transportation were replaced, and a new ministry for public business sector was added to the cabinet. "Ten new ministers were sworn in by the president today," Sisi's office said in a statement without giving a reason for the reshuffle. The new cabinet consists of 34 ministers and Ismail.
Three deputies were also appointed to the finance minister and one for minister of planning as part of the reshuffle. Later in a meeting, Sisi called on the new cabinet to "use public funds rationally ... and to fight all kinds of corruption," the statement said.
The reshuffle comes as the economy continues to falter on the back of falling tourism revenues, a cornerstone of the economy, and foreign investments. Tourism, hit by years of political turmoil since the ouster of long-time leader Hosni Mubarak in 2011, was dealt a body blow after a bomb brought down a Russian airliner over the Sinai Peninsula on October 31.
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