Egypt cabinet resigns over 'graft scandal'

Egypt's prime minister and his cabinet resigned yesterday following a corruption scandal and President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi tasked the oil minister with forming a new government.

A senior government official told AFP the reshuffle was meant to "pump new blood" into the government after the arrest on Monday of agriculture minister Salah Helal on suspicion of taking bribes.

The presidency said prime minister Ibrahim Mahlab handed his government's resignation to Sisi who accepted it, and tasked outgoing oil minister Sharif Ismail with forming the new cabinet within a week.

A statement from the presidency said the outgoing government will stay on in a caretaker role till then.

Egyptian media had reported an impending reshuffle after Helal's arrest.

He was detained after Sisi asked him to resign, in connection with an investigation into corruption.

Helal and his chief of staff were accused of having "requested and received" bribes from a businessman, through an intermediary, to legalise the purchase of state property.

The government had denied the reports of a reshuffle, and said no other ministers had been implicated in the corruption case.

But there have growing calls for Mahlab's resignation and increasing protests by civil servants over a new law that centralises promotions while taxing bonuses.

"The main reason was the president was displeased with the job of some ministers, and his feeling that the government wasn't achieving what he wanted, especially in light of complaints by citizens regarding services," said Mostafa Kamel al-Sayyed, a Cairo University political science professor.