Prime Minister Sherif Ismail will have his first tête-à-tête with his new cabinet lineup early next week, the PM old Egyptian state television last night, without clarifying when the new ministers will be sworn in, Al Shorouk reports. Sources tell the newspaper that the shuffle will be followed by a shakeup of the nation’s governors, with five to nine of them to be replaced. Likely candidates for the chopping block include the governors of Giza, Assiut, Aswan and Dakahlia, according to the collective wisdom of the domestic press. Ismail held his last cabinet meeting yesterday with the outgoing ministers, expressing his gratitude for their service, according to a cabinet statement.

We are now getting some of the first reactions to the new cabinet. Sahar Nasr is getting some love from the business community, with Federation of Egyptian Industries head Mohamed El Sewedy lauding the decision to merge the investment and international cooperation ministries, Al Shorouk reports. US-Egypt Business Council head Omar Mohanna echoed El Sewedy’s sentiments, saying Nasr’s network of international contacts makes her one of the most qualified people to handle investment policy, Al Borsa reports. Chairman of the Egyptian-European Business Council Mohamed Aboul Enein also said he is optimistic about Nasr’s new post, and called on her to formulate a coherent strategy for all Egyptian embassies and commercial services offices abroad to promote investments in Egypt.

Incoming Agriculture Minister Abdel Moneim Al Banna’s appointment remains the hot topic of the day, with Al Wafd leaders raising the biggest stink over the decision, according to Al Mal, which is quite close to the political party. Al Banna went on the PR offensive yesterday to defend himself against the allegations (see Last Night’s Talkshows, above). Speaking on policy, Al Banna tells Al Shorouk that he plans to bring a scientific approach to setting policy — a not so subtle allusion to the chaotic flip-flop under his predecessor, Essam Fayed.

Supply Ministry officials did not hesitate to give incoming Supply Minister Ali El Moselhy a piece of their mind when it comes to the ministry’s direction, Al Borsa reports. Unnamed ministry officials expect him to prioritize bolstering supplies of basic commodities (including rice) to drive down prices. In other words: Business as usual. The official also said El Moselhy should immediately boost subsidies using funds freed up by the purging of welfare cheats from the commodity subsidy system. Another unidentified ministry source is also looking for indicators on how El Moselhy will deal with the upcoming wheat harvest season and the issues of wheat storage.

As for incoming Education Minister Tarek Shawky, international schools went straight for the jugular and are lobbying him to reverse some the clampdowns launched by his predecessor. Representatives of private schools called for Shawky to remove clauses that allow the ministry to revoke licenses of schools arbitrarily and demanded an end to the monitoring of private schools, restrictions placed on contracts with teachers, and the royalty fees paid by schools to the ministry amounting to 1% of annual tuition revenues, Al Borsa reports.

Incoming Planning Minister Hala El Said tells Al Masry Al Youm that she plans on hitting the ground running by putting in place short-term plans that will help citizens adjust to the reform measures. El Said also said she will be prioritizing an overhaul of the labor and production policies, but provided no further details on her strategies.