Empowering Egypt's economy: IFC, World Bank spearhead private sector growth, development initiatives    QatarEnergy acquires stake in 2 Egyptian offshore gas exploration blocks    Al-Sisi inaugurates restored Sayyida Zainab Mosque, reveals plan to develop historic mosques    Shell Egypt hosts discovery session for university students to fuel participation in Shell Eco-marathon 2025    Chad faces growing food insecurity crisis amidst multiple challenges, UN warns    Germany's Lilium, Swiss firm expand to France    UNICEF calls for increased child-focused climate investments in drought-stricken Zimbabwe    S. Korea plans $7.3b support package for chip industry – FinMin    WHO warns of foodborne disease risk in Kenya amidst flooding    Egypt's CBE offers EGP 60b in T-bills on Sunday    CBE sets new security protocols for ATM replenishment, money transport services    EGP slips against USD in early Sunday trade    SoftBank's Arm to develop AI chips by 2025    Hurghada ranks third in TripAdvisor's Nature Destinations – World    Elevated blood sugar levels at gestational diabetes onset may pose risks to mothers, infants    President Al-Sisi hosts leader of Indian Bohra community    China in advanced talks to join Digital Economy Partnership Agreement    Japanese Ambassador presents Certificate of Appreciation to renowned Opera singer Reda El-Wakil    Sweilam highlights Egypt's water needs, cooperation efforts during Baghdad Conference    AstraZeneca injects $50m in Egypt over four years    Egypt, AstraZeneca sign liver cancer MoU    Swiss freeze on Russian assets dwindles to $6.36b in '23    Climate change risks 70% of global workforce – ILO    Prime Minister Madbouly reviews cooperation with South Sudan    Egypt retains top spot in CFA's MENA Research Challenge    Egyptian public, private sectors off on Apr 25 marking Sinai Liberation    Debt swaps could unlock $100b for climate action    President Al-Sisi embarks on new term with pledge for prosperity, democratic evolution    Amal Al Ghad Magazine congratulates President Sisi on new office term    Egyptian, Japanese Judo communities celebrate new coach at Tokyo's Embassy in Cairo    Uppingham Cairo and Rafa Nadal Academy Unite to Elevate Sports Education in Egypt with the Introduction of the "Rafa Nadal Tennis Program"    Financial literacy becomes extremely important – EGX official    Euro area annual inflation up to 2.9% – Eurostat    BYD، Brazil's Sigma Lithium JV likely    UNESCO celebrates World Arabic Language Day    Motaz Azaiza mural in Manchester tribute to Palestinian journalists    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Hard Talk: Egypt's Haphazard Choice of Ministers
Published in Daily News Egypt on 20 - 10 - 2008

A mix of confusion and indifference was the main characteristic of the Egyptian government s handling of the global financial crisis before Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak s meeting with economic ministers and the Central Bank governor.
Some of those ministers showed extreme indifference by attending a conference of little significance in Washington, when the crisis began resonating in Egypt, and therefore were asked to return immediately.
This indicates that there is a big problem with the government's performance in general and with the selection of Cabinet ministers in particular. This is attributable to the absence of modern mechanisms for the selection of ministers and senior officials in Egypt since the 1950s, as it has depended on personal relationships and nepotism on one the hand and random selection and coincidence on the other.
There is no clear mechanism for political recruitment through a ruling political party that continuously produces new cadres. There is also no certified academy to cultivate administrative cadres on firm foundations along the lines of that of the Paris-based HEC School of Management, for instance.
At the same time, there are no objective rules and standards of efficiency, professionalism and political perception.
Although the implications of the absence of such mechanisms have been known for several decades, they have become more visible thanks to the communications revolution, which allows ordinary people to remain updated on what is happening around them, especially in light of the unprecedented boldness of the written and visual media in its coverage of various issues that were considered taboo.
The second reason is the aggravation of crises resulting from the accumulation of problems over a long period of time, revealing the implications of the bad choice of ministers.
The Duweiqa rockslide disaster, for example, has opened the dossier of slums, and consequently, the imbalances of population policy and the poor performance of housing ministers over the past two decades.
The selection of the minister of housing from a class of businessmen (the current minister) has not proven to be more useful than appointing the owner of a large engineering firm (the former minister), because of the random selection in both cases.
In addition to the poor performance, the absence of modern mechanisms for the selection of ministers leads to serious anomalies, as the prime minister usually appoints a number of his friends or associates as ministers. The convictions of a minister could clash with the policies required at the ministry he was chosen for.
Although it is illogical that a minister admits such contradiction, former Minister Mokhtar Khattab, who was in charge of the privatization program in Atef Ebeid s cabinet, told Al-Badeel newspaper in a recent interview that his personal position was against the policy he implemented and that he was not convinced of many facets of denationalization.
This is not a singular case, as the lack of transparency hinders the revelation of facts unless a senior official speaks out after leaving office.
However, we should not wait for them to speak because the symptoms of the absence of modern mechanisms for the selection of senior officials are increasingly exposed in the form of public conflicts, some of which cannot be concealed.
This has become very clear, even to ordinary people, because it extends to sectors of interest to the public, such as sports, as in the case of our performance at the Beijing Olympics.
Thus, this imbalance has become more of a threat, because the random selection of senior officials is combined with aggravation of crises that need the highest degree of systematic and methodological work to be solved.
The ruling regime, for example, can neither put an end to the crises afflicting the country nor resolve or address them with ministers most of which do not know why they have been chosen and when they will be sacked.
They are still puzzling over the conflicts surrounding them, some of which are obvious and others are hidden within the inner circle of this regime.
Dr Waheed Abdel Meguid is an expert at Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies.


Clic here to read the story from its source.