The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
– ‘Wanted to nominate women’ –
Rouhani was addressing lawmakers as deliberations start over his new ministerial line-up, which must be approved by lawmakers in the coming days.
The president started his second term a fortnight ago under fire from reformists over his elderly and all-male cabinet.
“I wanted to nominate three women ministers but it did not happen,” he said, without explaining why.
“All ministers must use women in high-ranking positions… and especially female advisers and deputies,” he added.
Rouhani, a 68-year-old moderate cleric, won a resounding re-election victory in May in large part due to the backing of reformists who supported his message of greater civil liberties and equality.
Many felt let down by the lack of women ministers, saying he had bowed to pressure from the conservative religious establishment, although he did appoint two female vice presidents and a senior aide — positions which do not require parliamentary approval.
He defended his cabinet selections on Tuesday, and pointed to his pick for telecoms minister, 35-year-old Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, as “our first experience in choosing from the youth, someone who has grown up after the revolution”.
– Structural reforms –
Rouhani promised a more targeted approach to social welfare and job creation, responding to attacks during the campaign that his neoliberal agenda was mostly benefiting the rich.
He promised to eradicate absolute poverty and improve the conditions of the poorest “by five times” by the end of his term in 2021.
“The government is determined to carry out structural reforms. It sees the all-out fight against corruption as an absolute prerequisite for progress and social justice,” he said.
He also detailed a range of economic challenges, particularly the need to clean up the banking system, which is riven with toxic debt, and reform taxation to end the country’s reliance on unstable oil revenues.
He courted controversy in his first term by demanding that powerful economic groups linked to religious and military institutions must be brought into the tax system.
“Reducing tax exemptions along with expanded tax coverage can boost justice,” he said.
He promised a new rating system for banks and an increase in their capital requirements “to reach global standards”.
