o New charter to end chaos o Incentive package to boost economy
CAIRO — Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi on Wednesday said he would shuffle his government to tackle pressing economic problems, in a national address during which he hailed a new constitution backed by his Islamist allies. Morsi said he was consulting with Prime Minister Hisham Qandil on the ministerial changes. “I will deploy all my efforts to boost the Egyptian economy, which faces enormous challenges but has also big opportunities for growth, and I will make all the changes necessary for this task,” he said. He urged all political powers on Wednesday to take part in a national dialogue to resolve lingering tensions and promised to take necessary steps to heal the economy. He said he planned to introduce incentives to make Egypt a more attractive investment destination. “The coming days will witness, God willing, the launch of new projects ... and a package of incentives for investors to support the Egyptian market and the economy,” he said in a televised speech. Morsi earlier signed into law a new constitution, a bitterly contested document that he insists will help end political turmoil and allow him to focus on fixing the economy. Anxiety about a deepening political and economic crisis has gripped Egypt in past weeks, with many people rushing to buy dollars and withdraw their savings from banks. The Egyptian pound tumbled on Wednesday to its weakest level against the US currency in almost eight years. The presidency said on Wednesday that Morsi had formally approved the constitution the previous evening, shortly after results showed that Egyptians had backed it in a referendum. The text won about 64 percent of the vote, paving the way for a new parliamentary election in about two months. Morsi's government now faces the tough task of building a broad consensus as it prepares to impose austerity measures. The atmosphere of crisis deepened this week after the Standard & Poor's agency downgraded Egypt's long-term credit rating and warned of a possible further cut. The government has imposed currency restrictions to reduce capital flight. Leaving or entering Egypt with more than $10,000 in cash is now banned. The government is now in talks with business figures, trade unions and other groups to highlight the need for tax increases to resolve the crisis. However, Al-Mal newspaper quoted Planning Minister Ashraf Al-Araby as saying the government would not implement the tax increases until it had completed the dialogue with different parts of society. Morsi's government argues the constitution offers enough protection to all groups, and that many Egyptians are fed up with street protests. The charter gives Egypt's upper house of parliament, which is dominated by Islamists, full legislative powers until the vote for a new lower house is held. “The government calls on the people not to worry about the country's economy,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mohamed Mahsoub told the upper house in a speech. “We are not facing an economic problem but a political one and it is affecting the economic situation. We therefore urge all groups, opponents and brothers, to achieve wide reconciliation and consensus.” Adding to the government's long list of worries, Communications Minister Hany Mahmoud has resigned citing his “inability to adapt to the government's working culture”. Egypt's government asked parliament Wednesday to prioritize legislation to organize parliamentary elections, regulate the media and fight corruption as the upper chamber held its first session with temporary new powers granted by the constitution. – Reuters
