CRI听力:Greek Banks to Reopen on Monday as Tsipras's New Cabinet Takes Over

Greek banks are expected to reopen on Monday, three weeks after they were shut down to prevent the country's financial system from collapsing under a flood of withdrawals.

Meanwhile, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has sacked several ministers as he looked to strengthen his position at home before starting new bailout talks next week.

CRI's Poornima Weerasekara reports.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras reshuffled his cabinet on Saturday after nearly a quarter of the lawmakers from his radical left Syriza party voted against new austerity measures earlier this week.

Two ministers have been replaced and new posts have been assigned to another eight ministers and deputy ministers.

The reshuffle comes ahead of another parliamentary vote on further public spending cuts next Wednesday before Greece could secure a new bailout.

George Katrougalos, the new Labour Minister says his government would try to implement the bailout terms that include consumer tax hikes and further pension cuts, without hurting future growth.

"As we stood tall in the battle of the negotiations, we will stand tall in the battle of the implementation under the new measures in the most possibly social just manner. This is our mission. We are a government with the left at its core."

But Greeks who rejected these new bailout terms at a recent referendum are angry that Tsipras's government is pushing ahead with the very austerity measures his government was elected to repeal.

An unemployed Greek resident Giorgos Kamilas says he is tired after five years of belt-tightening

"I think they will be able to pass these measures, but this government has crushed our hope s, so many people voted for them and now their hopes have been crushed. So they will pass these measures but they will soon fall because they lied too much."

After months of wrangling and brinkmanship, the Greek government finally agreed to the terms laid down by its creditors last week. Greece finally catapulted after being threatened to exit the Euro.

The European Union says it is ready to inject 86 billion Euros into the cash-strapped Greek economy over the next three years.

The EU has also agreed to provide a bridge loan worth just over 7 billion Euros by Monday until the bailout talks are finalized.

But almost two thirds of this amount will go into debt repayment. The International Monetary Fund has hinted it will not participate in any bailout talks until the 1.6 billion Euros owing to it is repaid. Another payment deadline worth 4.5 billion Euros is just around the corner.

Meanwhile, Greek banks that were closed for almost three weeks will open on Monday. The announcement comes after the European Central Bank approved emergency funding to shore up Greece's crumbling financial sector.

But the daily withdrawal limit of 60 euros remains.

Greece has relied on bailout cash for five years after it was locked out of international bond markets amid concerns over its ability to repay its debts.

Although austerity measures implemented by successive governments have reduced the annual budget deficit, Greece's debt burden has swelled to around 180 percent of its GDP as the Greek economy continues to shrink.

The biggest challenge facing Greece's new parliament is how to kick-start growth amidst crippling austerity cuts.

For CRI, I'm Poornima Weerasekara.