Egypt's Finance Minister Hazem al-Beblawy has told Al-Masry Al-Youm he will maintain his post after the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) turned down his resignation, which he submitted on Tuesday. Informed sources at the Finance Ministry attributed Beblawy's desire to resign to economic reasons, including the government's failure to bridge the budget deficit, frequent labor protests which has brought production, increasing public debt, and disputes over the loss of LE437 billion for social insurance allocations. However, Beblawy denies that his announcement to resign resulted from economic reasons, and says that it came in objection to the government's handling of bloody clashes that took place in Maspero on Sunday. He said such incidents might reoccur and negatively impact the transition period. The ministry sources, who requested anonymity, said the government and the ruling military depend heavily on Beblawy for tackling Egypt's current economic crisis. Beblawy is a founder of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party. Earlier press statements said party chairman Mohamed Abul Ghar had urged Beblawy to submit his resignation, as an expression of the party's condemnation of the events in Maspero. Translated from the Arabic Edition
