Egypt swore in 10 new ministers on Sunday in a Cabinetshake-up aimed at improving the government's handling of the country's ailingeconomy ahead of talks this week with the International Monetary Fund over abadly needed $4.8 billion loan.
The reshuffle, which President Mohammed Morsi had promisedin response to public anger over Egypt's economic malaise, affected two keyministries, the interior and finance. It also solidified Islamist control ofthe government, putting three portfolios in the hands of members of thepresident's Muslim Brotherhood.
The dire state of Egypt's economy was punctuated Sunday bynew central bank figures that put December's foreign currency reserves at$15.01 billion, down $26 million from a month earlier. The reserves havedropped by more than half since the uprising that ousted longtime ruler HosniMubarak in February 2011.
The central bank said last month that current reserve levelsrepresent a "critical minimum."
Morsi met with the new ministers after their swearing-inceremony at the presidential palace in Cairo where they discussed ways torevive tourism and attract foreign investors, a presidential official said,speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief themedia.
Prime Minister Hesham Kandil, meanwhile, said he stressed inhis first meeting with the new ministers the need for immediate action tostabilize the economy.
At the heart of those efforts lies the $4.8 billion loanthat Egypt has requested from the IMF. Cairo says the funds are needed tobolster confidence in the country's economy and attract foreign investors.
Egypt asked the IMF for a delay in the talks on the loanafter a wave of political turmoil erupted in December over a contentious newconstitution. Mass protests and street violence tied to the constitution dealtyet another blow to major foreign currency earners, including tourism andforeign investment.
The unrest also sparked a rush on U.S. dollars by worriedresidents and led to a drop in the Egyptian pound, which shed nearly fourpercent of its value against the dollar over the past two weeks.
The opposition, a coalition of liberal, secular-leaning, andleftist groups, was not offered any seats in the new Cabinet and has said thatany government shake-up that doesn't replace Kandil falls short of what isneeded.
The two most important changes affect the finance andinterior ministries.
El-Morsi Hegazy, a professor of public finance at AlexandriaUniversity, takes over the Finance Ministry, replacing Mumtaz el-Said, who wasappointed by the country's transitional military rulers and widely viewed asbeing at odds with the Brotherhood.
Mohammed Ibrahim, meanwhile, will lead the InteriorMinistry, which is responsible for the police force. He previously was incharge of prisons and prior to that was director of security in the province ofAssiut, which has a large Coptic Christian population and has also been home toa number of Islamic militant groups.
Ibrahim said his priorities will be to fight a rising waveof crime and restore stability to Egypt.
"We will strike with an iron fist against anyone thatthreatens the security of the nation and Egyptians," Ibrahim told thestate news agency, pledging to clamp down on cross-border weapons smuggling.Egypt has been flush with weapons smuggled from Libya and Sudan.
Three of the new ministers are from the Brotherhood,according to the spokesman for the group's Freedom and Justice Party, AhmedSubaie. They take over the ministries of transportation, local development andsupply and interior trade, giving the Brotherhood a total of eight Cabinetposts.
Also included in the reshuffle were the ministries of civilaviation, environment, electricity, communication and parliamentary affairs.
Karim Ennarah, a researcher on police and security reformsat the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, said the previous interiorminister, Ahmed Gamal Eddin, was likely replaced because Brotherhood leaderswere upset with the police's handling of attacks against the group's officesand supporters during clashes with the opposition last month over theconstitution.
"It seems like it is a clash of egos. It's obviouslynot a reform of any kind," Ennarah said.
With the new Cabinet set, Kandil told reporters he will meetwith IMF officials Monday "to reassure them about Egypt's situation andeconomic recovery in the coming period."
An IMF statement said the purpose of the visit is "todiscuss with the authorities the most recent economic developments, theirpolicy plans for addressing Egypt's economic and financial challenges, andpossible IMF support for Egypt in facing these challenges."
Egyptian officials have said that the country's budgetdeficit is likely to reach 200 billion Egyptian pounds ($31.5 billion) bymid-2013.
The implementation of austerity measures, many of which arebelieved to be linked to conditions attached to the IMF loan, was also delayedlast month due to the political situation.
Kandil's government is expected to announce tax hikes andcuts in subsidies soon. Talk of restructuring the current system is sensitivein a nation where nearly half of its 85 million people live just at or belowthe poverty line of $2 per person a day.