Constitution amendment committee officials meet with President

Amr Moussa, the head of the 50-member constitution committee, and the committees deputies and officials in charge of sub-committees met with Interim President Adly Mansour to brief him on the development of the work of the committee and discuss controversial articles, sources from the former Shura Council said.The purpose of the meeting was also to resolve a recent crisis that led members of the 10-member committee to withdraw from a session held two days ago.Moussa denied that the
committee is subject to external pressure or that the Armed Forces has asked for immunity for the Defense Minister.Meanwhile, Central Bank Governor Hesham Ramez expressed his disappointment that the 50-member committee has not asked the Central Bank or banks in general to provide their input on articles that concern the banking sector.He also warned against incorporating a provision in the constitution that allows the removal of the Central Bank Governor through a parliamentary vote, saying this would threaten the independence of the Central Banks policies.Ramez added that the banking sector serves as a security valve for the local economy and has absorbed internal and external shocks since the international financial crisis in 2008. It has also handled the negative repercussions of the 25 January revolution.He stressed that opening up the possibility to dismiss the Central Bank Governor through a parliamentary vote will make him subservient to the party that wins a majority in parliament, threatening its independence.Meanwhile, some members reserve of the 50-member committee threatened escalation against the committee if they continue to be banned from attending the committees closed meetings, saying that they will file a lawsuit against the dictatorial practices of Moussa before the administrative judiciary.Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm