Cairo, March 10, 2019 – Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday tapped a senior military officer for the post of transport minister after a recent train crash at Cairo’s central station killed 22 people. Speaking at a military gathering, general-turned-president Sisi said General Kamel al-Wazir would be sworn in after parliamentary approval. And later on Sunday, the parliament, which is packed with Sisi supporters, backed Wazir’s nomination, according to state-run al-Ahram news website.
Wazir’s selection comes after a backlash from a February 27 crash at Ramses central station, which also injured more than 40 people, forcing former transport minister Hisham Arafat to resign. “I’m handing over this (transport) portfolio to one of the best army officers,” said Sisi, who later promoted Wazir from major general to lieutenant general. Wazir has been the head of the Egyptian military’s engineering authority since 2015. The unit is behind many of the army’s mega-projects including a new capital east of Cairo and construction of everything from hospitals to sewage treatment plants.
At press conferences, Sisi often calls upon Wazir informally to give updates on the progress of major infrastructure schemes. Since he took office in 2014, Sisi has appointed military officers to high-ranking positions, including governorships. He has consistently praised the military’s role in delivering national mega-projects in record time such as the expansion of the Suez Canal in August 2015.
The crash triggered rare calls for protest online against the government’s record on rail safety. A day after the crash, a sole demonstrator who held a sign reading “Leave, Sisi” in downtown Cairo was arrested. The government often blames the rail network’s poor maintenance on decades of negligence and a lack of funds.
By AFP
