Majlis Plans to Impeach Agriculture Minister on Tuesday

EghtesadOnline: Lawmakers plan to hold a session on Tuesday to impeach Agriculture Minister Mahmoud Hojjati for his "poor" track record and failure to address major problems facing the sector.

News ID: ۷۴۹۰۳۲

25 November 2019

"According to the parliament's internal regulations, the president has been invited to attend the session and can speak in defense of Hojjati for one hour," Ali Asghar Yousefnejad, a member of Majlis Presiding Board, told IRNA on Saturday.

The motion calling for the impeachment of the agriculture minister carries 38 signatures.

Based on the parliament's procedural law, at least 10 lawmakers should sign the motion to launch the impeachment process, according to Financial Tribune.

Hojjati had survived a vote of no-confidence in parliament in 2018.

In a recent interview with Eghtesaad24, Jalal Mahmoudzadeh, a spokesman for Majlis Agriculture Commission, said the motion cites a number of reasons to impeach the minister, including issues related to dismissals and appointments at the ministry, exports and imports, and failure to protect natural resources.

The lawmaker added that Hojjati should not be blamed for all the woes facing the Agriculture Ministry, because some issues have been caused by the "weak" performance of other related organizations.

'Flawed Structures’

Mahmoudzadeh said removing the minister and appointing a new one will not resolve the challenges facing the sector, arguing that most of the problems can be attributed to Iran's oil-dependent economy and the ministry’s flawed organizational structure.

"We should also take this issue into consideration that multiple bodies are involved in the decision-making process for the agriculture sector. So changing the agriculture minister will not bring about a fundamental transformation," he said.

This does not mean that Hojjati's performance has been completely satisfactory, the parliamentarian clarified.

"I am just saying that it is wrong to assume that a new minister would be able to entirely transform the ministry and the agriculture sector," he said.

“The truth is that there are many flaws in the management of this industry, which cannot be resolved by one person.”

Mahmoudzadeh maintains that one of the main issues in the agriculture sector is the restrictions imposed on the exports of many agricultural products.

"Such an approach is inconsistent with the guidelines of the Resistance Economy, which seeks to support domestic producers," he said.

Resistance Economy—which is promoted by the Leader of Islamic Revolution—describes measures aimed at making the economy more self-sufficient and insulating it from sanctions and hostile foreign activity by supporting domestic production and weaning the economy off its reliance on oil revenues.