Parliamentary sources said that the cabinet reshuffle expected this week will not include the economic ministers, especially that the government did not refer the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan agreement to the House of Representatives so far. The sources added that despite the objections against the Minister of Industry and Trade Tarek Kabil and the Minister of Investment Dalia Khorshid, indicators tend towards their exclusion from the reshuffle. Prime Minister Sherif Ismail plans to finalise the final cabinet reshuffle throughout this week. Ismail said in a press statement that he will present a final list of eight to 11 ministerial changes to the House of Representatives this week. He called on members of the parliament to amend the government's economic policies, and not only reshuffle the cabinet, in order to improve the economy. Member of the parliament's Economic Affairs Committee Amr El-Gohary said that society has seen a significant increase in prices due to the recent economic decisions of the government following the Egyptian pound's flotation and fuel price increases, which requires economic programmes to reduce prices. He added that the most important programme is forming a powerful system to protect citizens from the unjustified price hikes over the last period. He added that the Economic Affairs Committee discussed a new draft law for the Consumer Protection Agency (CPA), and 30 articles have already been completed. Member of parliament Mohamed Saad Badrawi, who is also a member of the Economic Affairs Committee, said that changing people is not as important as adjusting policies or changing them to be efficient to solve problems. He added that the inflation indicators have been very high during the past two months, which negatively affected the purchasing power of citizens. The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) announced that the annual inflation rate increased to 24.3% in December 2016 compared to December 2015, and the annual inflation rate in November registered 20.2%. Member of the Health Committee Shadia Thabet said that the Ministry of Health is one of the most important ministries which must be included in the cabinet reshuffle, especially in light of several crises over the last period, such as shortages in baby formula and medicine price hikes. She called to assign the ministry to one of the leaders of the ministry, as the ministry's staff is experienced in its works and the crises it faces.
