Editorial Note: The following news reports are summaries from original sources. They may also include corrections of Arabic names and political terminology. Comments are in parentheses.

UAE Gives Egyptian Army $40 Billion for Building One Million Apartments, Strengthening its Power Over the Country

March 27, 2014

Egyptian tank in a Cairo street

 

Egypt army extends power by taking charge of Gulf aid

By Maggie Fick

CAIRO, Thursday, March 27, 2014, 11:00am EDT

(Reuters) -

The Egyptian army is taking charge of billions of dollars of development aid from the United Arab Emirates, an army official said, raising further doubts over the narrow separation of powers with the military backed administration in place since July.

One of several Gulf states to shower Egypt with cash and petroleum products after the army ousted elected Muslim Brotherhood president Mohammed Mursi, the UAE also looked ahead, seeking to bolster a system that could keep Islamists it sees as an existential threat from running the most populous Arab state.

Alongside money to build clinics, schools and housing units, it offered to fund a project in Egypt's strategic wheat sector--the construction of 25 wheat silos that could help the world's biggest importer of the commodity lower its huge food bill.

Bread is a politically-explosive issue in Egypt -- failure to deliver it at an affordable price has triggered major riots in the past and the government wants to boost its storage capacity to reduce its reliance on international markets.

When army chief Field Marshal Abdul Fattah al-Sisi toppled Mursi after large demonstrations against what protesters said was inept government, he put in place an interim civilian cabinet meant to be at arm's length from the military.

But Major General Taher Abdullah, who heads the Engineering Authority of the Armed Forces, said when UAE officials discussed projects shortly after Mursi's ouster, it was with the army.

"They said, 'we will support the Egyptian people but through the army -- if the people want a hospital, the armed forces will build it,'" the 58-year-old career officer and engineer told Reuters in an interview.

The army's role in building construction became public earlier this month when UAE government-linked Dubai firm Arabtec's announced it had inked a $40 billion deal with the military to build one million homes in Egypt.

In the silos project, it has been acting behind the scenes.

WEEKLY MEETINGS

The army was not mentioned when a $4.9 billion UAE aid package for development and infrastructure schemes was announced in October. It included funds for the new silos, which the government says should help prevent the loss of 1.6 million tonnes - around half a billion dollars worth - of wheat a year.

An official at Egypt's state-run silos and storage company with knowledge of the wheat project told Reuters the interim government's Investment Ministry launched a tender in January to choose a company to build four of the silos.

The estimated per-silo construction cost in the tender specifications was nearly three times the cost projected by the UAE, according to the silos company source.

The UAE told the Egyptian ministry to withdraw the tender, making clear that they would not release money until they saw more "suitable" prices in it, the source said.

He said the UAE held a meeting at a Cairo hotel in early March, convening representatives from the three Egyptian ministries and the state silo company along with army officials.

A trader with knowledge of the Egyptian wheat sector also said the UAE had rejected the January tender.

Sherif Oteifa, an adviser to the Investment Minister on "mega projects", confirmed a tender was issued in January but said it had not been rejected. He said he hoped next week to have final clearance from the Emirates government to award contracts for construction of two of the silos. Officials estimate they will take about 18 months to build.

Oteifa said the army had monitored the tendering process on a weekly basis. "We are happy with this, it makes the process go quicker. But the army will not be involved in construction: the bidders are public and private companies."

The UAE's Egypt aid point man said recently Abu Dhabi had excellent cooperation with the interim government, which was reshuffled unexpectedly last month.

GETTING THINGS DONE

The silos company source said the tender would be run again, along with tenders for the remaining silos. "We agreed that revisions will be made to the tender, and a deadline was set ... for the opening of bids again," the source said.

The trader said he did not have an update on the timing, adding: "They are looking to reorganise the tender and re do it. The Turkish silos are very cheap, they will probably buy those."

Asked why the army attended the meeting, the silos company source said: "The UAE wants to make sure the money goes to the right place...and thinks the army is the best way to guarantee this."

Major General Abdullah said meetings between officials from the two governments over the silos were happening on a weekly basis and that army officials attended them.

He dismissed the account of Emirati frustration with the tender process. He did not give details of the latest timetable, but expressed optimism about progress, citing the army's approach to getting things done:

"When we say a project will be done in six months, then, with the will of God and the support of God, in six months it will be done."

Egyptian governments now know that unlike in the past, performance is critical. Massive street protests have removed two presidents in three years.

The interim government's decision to resign in February, with many but not all the same faces reappointed shortly afterwards, has not been fully explained: some analysts see it as a way for the army to distance itself from some of the economic problems that have persisted since Mursi's ouster.

PRESIDENT-IN-WAITING?

Sisi, 59, who was appointed defence minister by Mursi and held onto to the post after he ousted Mursi in July, resigned as both army chief and defence minister on Wednesday so he could run for president in an election that is part of a roadmap to return Egypt to civilian rule. He is expected to win easily.

Thousands of Islamist supporters of Mursi have been jailed, hundreds killed and the movement is back underground, where it was before former air force chief and longtime Egyptian ruler Hosni Mubarak was toppled in a popular uprising in 2011.

Under Mubarak, the military gained control of a vast business empire ranging from bottled water companies to petrol stations.

Government spokesman Hani Saleh told Reuters it was logical for it to be involved in the wheat silos project.

"The army is an integral part of this country and is known for its integrity, discipline and past experience in conducting major national projects, especially of this size," he said.

The Supplies Minister was not reappointed in the new cabinet. The turnover happened just days after he had sacked several government officials involved in the wheat sector, including the head of the silos and storage company.

Shadi Hamid, fellow at the Brookings Institution's Saban Center in Washington noted a contrast between the pace of work by the Egyptian government and that in Gulf nations such as the UAE, the most modernised Arab economy.

"There's a frustration there because the Egyptian government cannot get basic things done," he said.

"It's not something that the Emiratis or Saudis are used to; for them, when they want results they can actually take specific measures to get those results."

Emirati officials say publicly that they are supporting Egypt's "march of progress".

"There was excellent cooperation and commendable efforts on their side," UAE minister of state Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber said, when asked in a newspaper interview for his assessment of ties between the UAE and the government of interim Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi that was in place until last month.

"The Egyptian-Emirati relationship is and will always be strong, and it's of a strategic nature," said Jaber, according to a transcript of the interview published on March 17. The interview also appeared on the UAE's official WAM news agency.

Jaber is the UAE's point man on the Egyptian aid projects.

Despite the difficulties of doing business in Egypt, there are no signs that the UAE, or Saudi Arabia or Kuwait, will withdraw their support for a pivotal country in the Arab world.

"Even though the Emiratis are frustrated, they've signed on for the long term (and) they are on board ideologically," said Justin Dargin, a Middle East energy expert at the University of Oxford.

It is clear who they see as their partner. When Arabtec announced the housing construction deal, Egyptian papers splashed front page pictures of one of its executives, shaking hands with Sisi.

(The story corrects first paragraph of fourth section to show Mursi appointed Sisi as defense minister.)

(Additional reporting by Shadia Nasralla in Cairo and Sarah McFarlane in London; editing by Michael Georgy and Philippa Fletcher)

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Egypt’s Sisi quits as defence minister to stand for presidency

Khaleej Times, (AFP) / 28 March 2014

General Sedki Sobhi was sworn in as the new defence minister and army chief, and Lieutenant General Mahmoud Hegazy replaced Sobhi as army chief of staff, the presidency said. Hegazy is the father-in-law of Sisi’s son.

Field Marshal Abdel Fattah Al Sisi resigned as Egypt’s defence minister on Thursday the day after announcing he will stand for president, a post for which he has no serious competition.

Sisi turned up in civilian clothes at the weekly cabinet meeting to submit his resignation after quitting as army chief the previous night, state news agency MENA reported.

General Sedki Sobhi was sworn in as the new defence minister and army chief, and Lieutenant General Mahmoud Hegazy replaced Sobhi as army chief of staff, the presidency said. Hegazy is the father-in-law of Sisi’s son.

Declaring his widely anticipated candidacy in a televised address on Wednesday, Sisi vowed to fight “terrorism” and work towards restoring the battered economy.

The wildly popular Sisi faces no serious competition in the election to be held before June, and is widely seen as the only leader able to restore order after more than three years of turmoil since the Arab Spring overthrow of veteran strongman Hosni Mubarak.

“With all modesty, I nominate myself for the presidency of Egypt,” Sisi said in the address, wearing his uniform.

He vowed to fight militancy which has killed more than 200 policemen and troops since the military ousted elected president Mursi last July.

US deputy State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said Washington was not backing any candidate in the election, saying it was up to the Egyptian people to decide.

But it was “critical that they are able to do so in an environment that allows the free expression of political views without intimidation or fear of retribution”, Harf told AFP.

Washington has been critical of Egypt’s military-installed government for the slow transition to democracy since Morsi’s ouster.

But the Egyptian cabinet reiterated that it aims to “build a modern state based on democratic institutions”.

Government spokesman Hany Salah told reporters that the cabinet praised “the patriotic and fundamental role played by Sisi in the success of the June revolution”, referring to Mursi’s ouster after mass protests against his one-year rule.

A separate cabinet statement praised Sisi for “facing the forces of terrorism and destruction with full force and vigour”.

State television broadcast footage of Sisi meeting his election campaign team.

Egyptian media hailed Sisi’s speech on Wednesday, splashing it across their front pages.

The announcement was also welcomed on the street, with people saying Sisi becoming president was inevitable.

Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood rejected Sisi’s candidacy outright.

“He led a coup to become president. He is a man who has killed daily since the coup,” Ibrahim Munir of the Brotherhood’s political bureau told AFP by telephone from London.

Sisi is believed to be the real power behind interim president Adly Mansour, under whose watch police have killed hundreds of  protesters and detained about 15,000 suspects since Mursi’s ouster.

The crackdown has worried the international community, which was outraged after 529 Morsi supporters were sentenced to death this week over deadly riots.

Many Egyptians, deeply disillusioned by Mursi’s sole year in office, have supported the crackdown in the hope of seeing stability restored.

For those who want an end to the violence that has scared off investors and tourists, Sisi’s military background is an asset.

Analysts say Sisi will face stiff challenges.

“To turn the economy around, deep and painful restructuring is needed, something the military-backed government has avoided so far,” said James Dorsey, Middle East Expert at Singapore-based S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

“He will lead a deeply divided country in which a significant minority feels disenfranchised. He would need to build bridges to prevent further polarisation and violence.”

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