Prime Minister Essam Sharaf has chosen two deputies, Ali al-Selmy for political development and democratic affairs and Hazem al-Beblawy for economic affairs, said cabinet spokesperson Mohamed Hegazy on Saturday. Hegazy said the choices represent a need to focus on the national economy on one hand and establish a sound democratic system on the other. Sharaf's choices are not based on political affiliation, but on candidates' ability to work together and achieve the revolution's objectives, said Hegazy. Selmy would be responsible for forming of a group of ministers to achieve social demands related to prices, low-income families and subsidies, a cabinet source told Al-Masry Al-Youm, adding that he will hold the office of investment minister as well as that of public enterprise minister. The source said that Beblawy will hold the office of finance minister and head a ministerial group including minister of trade and minister of international cooperation. This group would be responsible for developing economic policies of the cabinet. Sharaf directed a message to Tahrir Square protesters through his Facebook fan page that said the cabinet reshuffle is just the first step toward achieving the people's ambitions. Meanwhile, Housing Ministry staff held a series of meetings and conducted phone calls with revolutionary coalitions to choose candidates for the office of housing minister. Many nominated Mahmoud al-Serengawy, former deputy minister of housing, stressing that he was an honorable man who had been subject to grave injustice under Mohamed Ibrahim Suleiman, the former housing minister. But Central Agency Auditing employees opposed Serengawy's nomination due to his old age and nominated Mohamed Ahmed Abdellatif, head of Construction Services in Qena Governorate. Abdellatif is known for his efficiency. Other figures were nominated on Facebook. Urban Community Authority employees created a page calling for the nomination of Major General Adel Naguib, deputy chairman of the authority. Informed sources told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the cabinet faced problems in naming candidates for the post of agriculture minister because of the historical relation between the ministry and the now-dissolved National Democratic Party (NDP). This started when former Agriculture Minister Youssef Waly held the office of NDP deputy chairman and involved many agricultural leaders in party affairs. In related news, activists on Facebook nominated several people to take over the health portfolio. Most notably were Mohamed Abu al-Ghar, professor of gynecology at Cairo University and the spiritual father of the 9 March Movement for university independence, and Mohamed Ghonim, a world-renowned urologist professor. Dozens of employees in the Ministry of Civil Aviation staged a protest in front of cabinet headquarters demanding the replacement of Aviation Minister Ibrahim Manna with a civilian minister. Translated from the Arabic Edition
