None of the current heads of the economic ministries have been discussed in meetings held by newly-appointed Prime Minister Hesham Qandil to form a new cabinet, sources have said, hinting that none of them will stay on.
Sources at the Freedom and Justice Party told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the party seeks control of the economic ministries in order to achieve President Mohamed Morsy’s 100-day program and the Muslim Brotherhood's Renaissance Project.
The ministries of finance, industry and trade, petroleum, health, education and housing are among those that the party is attempting to fill with its own candidates, the sources said.
They also revealed that either Al-Sayyed Negeida, head of the dissolved Parliament’s Industry Committee, or Hanafy Awad, who is in charge of managing the energy subsidies issue within the party, will be nominated for the post of petroleum minister. However, current minister Abdullah Ghorab is expected to remain in his position if neither is appointed.
Ghorab told Al-Masry Al-Youm that he is still performing his duties and that all of the ministers are working to accomplish their missions.
Al-Masry Al-Youm was informed that Abdullah Shehata, a Cairo University assistant professor of finance, is one of the top nominees for finance minister.
Shehata is the head of the FJP’s economic committee. He worked at the ministry under former minister Youssef Botros Ghali before the 25 January revolution last year, and then worked under former minister Samir Radwan after the revolution. He recently returned to Egypt after traveling to Kuwait for work.
Finance Minister Momtaz al-Saeed said he is still doing his job and wished his successor luck. He added that he received no calls from the new prime minister about staying in his post and that he wants to leave a spot for others due to the condition of his health, given the stress of working during the transitional period.
The Muslim Brotherhood has said it will not nominate the deputy supreme guide Khairat al-Shater to any governmental post.
According to sources, the Brotherhood's Guidance Bureau and FJP figures are convinced that his nomination would not be in their favor, as he was a former presidential hopeful.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
