New Cabinet will not include Information Ministry, to swear in Tuesday

A new Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb is expected to be sworn in by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Tuesday, according to state-run newspaper Al-Ahram.

The prime minister also said the new Cabinet will not include the Ministry of Information, the newspaper added.

Mehleb said that the new Cabinet will include changes to 10 portfolios, according to Al-Ahram.

Rights groups have long called for the Information Ministry’s dissolution. The ministry has a notorious history of acting as the ruling regime’s mouthpiece, and activists decry it as a major obstacle to freedom of expression.

The ministry was temporarily dissolved in February 2011, days after former President Hosni Mubarak’s overthrow, but was then reinstated by interim ruler Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, who appointed Osama Heikal to its helm.

Cabinet spokesperson Hossam al-Qawish meanwhile told Al-Ahram that Mehleb will be meeting with prospective ministers on Monday afternoon.

Qawish confirmed that Hisham Zaazou will stay on as minister of tourism and that Sherif Ismail, the current minister of petroleum, and Hossam Kamal, civil aviation minister, will also retain their positions. 

Minister of Interior Mohamed Ibrahim and Minister of Defense Sedky Sobhy are also expected to stay on.

A report published by Al-Ahram on Sunday said that the new Cabinet will not include a Ministry of Information but will be replaced by a Supreme Council for Information.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry will also be separated from the Ministry of Investment, becoming the Ministry of Investment and Business. Three new ministries will be formed for slum areas, the development of Sinai and Egyptians abroad, Al-Ahram said.

Sources also told Al-Ahram that three deputy prime ministers will be appointed.

Former Investment Minister Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour will be responsible for economic affairs, Defense Minister Sobhy for defense and former Minister of Local Development Adel Labib for services.

President Sisi had tasked Mehleb with forming a new government immediately after he submitted his Cabinet’s resignation last Monday.

A report by Reuters on Sunday suggested that the new Cabinet’s formation has been delayed because several candidates turned down offers of ministerial positions.