Going against a power established in government for over 60 years is not easy. But the Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsi, took the first step. Yesterday indeed has removed from office the Minister of Defense and head of the armed forces, Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi, right-hand man of dictator Hosni Mubarak for the past 20 years, and the chief of staff, Gen Sami Annan. Also he named vice president a magistrate, Mahmoud Mekki. A highly symbolic act that expresses a vigorous break with the military past to build a "civilized" Egypt.
Since the beginning of July, Morsi has been Egypt's first democratically elected non-military president, but his powers had been somewhat limited. The military junta, a true continuum with the ancien régime, had launched a constitutional decree which centralized the legislative power on himself and reduced Morsi's room for manoeuvre. The however, the president canceled it yesterday, reiterating that his transitional government has as its main objective that of leading the country towards a democracy "and bring benefits to the population" which at the moment is asking for greater security and a recovery of the economy.
And also for international public opinion, Morsi, an engineer with a master's degree in the United States, is the right man to recover the country's weak economy. Right now Egypt is facing a sharp decline in foreign reserves, a crisis balance of payments, high interest rates and the risk of a devaluation. As well as the fact that for the political unrest the country has seen decrease its investments from abroad and the collapse of the tourism sector.
But as far as the economy is concerned, the news ahead is positive. The Government of Cairo expects one growth between 3,5% and 4% this year also due to the numerous international aids it expects to receive. Indeed by the end of this week the Emir of Qatar will deposit 500 million dollars in the Central Bank of Egypt. These funds are a fourth part of the 2 billion agreed with the Arab country to re-stimulate the economy.
Furthermore, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will arrive in Cairo at the end of the month to restart the dialogue with the Government for a $3,2 billion loan. Political tensions had delayed the release of aid.
In June also theSaudi Arabia has granted Cairo aid worth 430 million dollars e a 750 million credit line for oil imports. And Egypt's Finance Minister, Mumtaz al-Saeed, said that too Libya has offered to help the country with a deposit in the Central Bank. The Libyan officials, explained Saeed, “have promised that if part” of the assets frozen abroad “will be released then it will deposit funds with the Central Bank.” But no comments were made from Tripoli.
Source: Reuters
