Egypt’s parliament approved in a plenary session Tuesday the appointment of former army general Mohamed Ali El-Sheikh as the new minister of supply.
El-Sheikh will replace former minister of supply Khaled Hanafy, who decided resign from office two weeks ago after a fact-finding parliamentary committee accused him of corruption and graft.
Parliament speaker Ali Abdel-Al told MPs Tuesday that the appointment of El-Sheikh comes in line with Article 147 of the constitution, which states that the president of the republic can implement a cabinet reshuffle after consultation with the prime minister and the approval of the majority of MPs in a plenary session.
Speaker Abdel-Al told MPs that El-Sheikh, 64, has a long record of experience in the sector of commodity supplies and public services, and was head of the Egyptian army's Supply Authority.
"He was also the head of the army's general services apparatus," said Abdel-Al, adding that "these leading positions helped El-Sheikh get rich experience in the areas of crisis management and service provision."
"As you all know, the Ministry of Supply is in pressing need for a leading and forceful figure who can manage crises and ensure that all kinds of services and basic commodities offered to ordinary citizens are available on the market," said Abdel-Al.
Some MPs demanded that the new minister of supply be interviewed in a hearing session before he is approved. However, the demand was rejected by Abdel-Al, who argued that Article 147 does not mandate such a procedure.
"The constitution states that Egypt is a mixed parliamentary-presidential system and that parliament can only withdraw confidence from the government."
