Mohammad Ashmawi

Corruption was a major deterrent against the reform of Arab administrations said Mohammad Ashmawi, a management consult who is president of MENA, Cairo and CEO of Chemonics Egypt.

However, in a country like Egypt some progress has been made in recent years to put senior bureaucrats and officials on trial for bribery and mismanagement of public funds.

"As a result of fighting corruption in the top tier of government bureaucracy, we now hear about former ministers being sentenced to prison terms.This is very positive and acts as a deterrent," Ashmawi, who also heads the USAID-funded Institute for Public and Private Partnerships in Cairo.

This is very positive and acts as a deterrent," Ashmawi, who also heads the USAID-funded Institute for Public and Private Partnerships in Cairo.Free market reforms over the last 10 years helped downsize a once bloated public sector in Egypt as more workers find jobs in private enterprises.