CAIRO — The dismissal of former Agriculture Minister Salah Helal, and his referral to the public prosecutor Sept. 7 on charges of accepting bribes to facilitate the takeover by businessman Ayman el-Gamil of 2,500 acres of state-owned lands in Wadi Natrun, sparked a debate about the Egyptian state's efforts to combat corruption.
In this context, Egyptian Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb submitted his Cabinet's resignation Sept. 12, and several analysts attributed the resignation to an order by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, based on the background of the abovementioned issue. However, the most pressing question remains whether corruption among ministers will end with the departure of Mehleb’s Cabinet.