Sisi reappoints central bank “acting” governor, his deputies

Hassan Abdalla will continue on as acting governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) for another year by presidential decree. His acting deputies will likewise continue in their roles.

Abdalla was appointed to the temporary post upon the resignation of former CBE Governor Tarek Amer in 2022. He has overseen the monetary agency during a turbulent period for Egypt’s economy, marked by the depreciation of the pound by over 50 percent against the dollar.

Abdalla’s autonomy in the role remains limited, however, due to its short tenure. Judges and legal experts told Mada Masr that the temporary appointments are typical under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi whose policy has effectively reduced term durations for various officials at monitoring agencies, curtailing their ability to operate independently from the executive branch.

The sources said the practice circumvents the immunity which should, legally speaking, be granted to officials in such positions of responsibility.

The decision to keep Abdalla in the post came via a presidential decree published in the Official Gazette on Sunday. 

A separate decree published on Monday reappointed Rami Aboulnaga as CBE deputy governor and Tarek El-Khouly, the chairperson of Saib Bank, as second deputy, each for a one-year term.

The appointments represent a violation of the law, according to a legal source familiar with the inner workings of the central bank who spoke to Mada Masr on condition of anonymity. The central bank governor should, under the laws governing the agency, be appointed by the president for a term of four years subject to approval by a majority of votes in the House of Representatives. The term can legally be renewed once.

The same stipulations are laid out in Article 216 of the Constitution for any body with monitoring powers, namely the central bank, the Central Auditing Organization, the Administrative Control Authority and the Egypt Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA). Removal from office is only permissible under circumstances delineated by law.

To evade the constitutional requirements, the president has pursued a similar route within many of the monitoring entities since August 2018, according to a judicial source who spoke to Mada Masr on condition of anonymity. As an example, the source pointed to the dismissal of the former chairman of the Administrative Control Authority (ACA), Major General Mohamed Erfan, only two years into his tenure, leaving him without recourse or legal justification. An acting head to the ACA was appointed in Erfan’s stead. 

Similarly, a temporary head was also appointed to the FSA, the source said, describing the practice as an effort to sidestep the immunity granted to leaders of regulatory bodies by the Constitution.

Appointing acting officials is a “heretical” practice, another judicial source who participated in drafting the constitution had previously told Mada Masr. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source said that the government’s excessive reliance on the practice gives the impression that these bodies are not independent. He added that although an acting authority head may assume the role, their longevity in it is foreclosed by the president’s decision-making power, instead of being guaranteed by the Constitution.