File Photo: Farouk El-Okdah, former Central Bank governor during IMF/World Bank gathering in Washington, Saturday, April 16, 2011 (AP)
Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi issued a decree on Thursday hiring Farouk El-Okdah, former Central Bank governor, in the coordinating council through which the government agrees with the central bank on monetary policy targets.
The decree published in the official gazette on Thursday reshuffles the coordinating council for the central bank of Egypt while maintaining the membership of Mohamed El-Erian, former CEO for global investment management firm Pimco, and including Abla Abdel Latif who is currently head of the presidential economic consultancy committee.
The coordinating council was established in 2005 by a presidential decree that charges the country's premier with determining the issues to be referred to the council.
"The Coordinating Council shall determine the targets of the monetary policy in a way that realizes price stability and banking system soundness, within the context of the general economic policy of the State," reads the second article in the decree no. 17 for 2005.
El-Okdah was the CBE governor in the decade ending 2013, during this period he managed to shore up the Egyptian pound against foreign currencies by tightening restrictions on currency speculation.
Egypt is currently facing a foreign exchange crisis amid tightening in its sources, a challenge the new governor, Tarek Amer, faces beginning this Thursday.
Since 2013, the then CBE governor, Hisham Ramez, has taken controversial monetary measures through a managed floating system that depleted the currency reserves which stood at $16.4 in October.
Ramez has also introduced a cap on dollar deposits to limit a growing currency black market but the measure was seen controversial and unofficial rates resurfaced a few weeks later.
Short link: