The President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, highlighted on Thursday in Algiers, the need to move forward towards strengthening the achievements of recent years, stressing that the questions relating to the improvement of the living conditions of the citizen, the promotion of public service and the removal of obstacles in front of investors are top priorities.
Chairing the opening of the Government-Walis (Governors) meeting at the Palais des Nations, President Tebboune reviewed the main issues that form the cornerstone of the economic and local development process, assuring the pursuit of efforts “without respite to consolidate the achievements of the last three years”.
In this context, the President of the Republic particularly cited the priority issues for the Government, foremost among which are the improvement of citizens’ living conditions, the promotion of the performance of public structures and services, the removal of obstacles to investors, the development of agriculture to achieve better results with the creation of jobs for young people, the creation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), among other requirements of sustainable development.
President Tebboune also stressed that this meeting, which brings together government staff and local officials, aims to ” confer greater efficiency to the action of local authorities ” and ” to implement the decisions taken under a new vision in order to change mindsets and break with bureaucratic and parasitic practices “.
In order to achieve the results expected from the decisions taken in the context of accelerating local socio-economic development operations, President Tebboune called on the Walis to “free themselves from hesitation” and to “show initiative and boldness” in the face of challenges relating to energy, food and water security.
He underlined that Algeria was embarking on a phase where “we are working to lay the foundations of the new governance by putting in place conditions favourable to the promotion of investment and the diversification of sources of financing at the level of the provinces through the use of available means and the improvement of management methods”.
Welcoming the contribution of the Walis to the “settlement of problems that impeded economic enterprises, which allowed, in a short time, the creation of hundreds of economic units and the opening of nearly 52,000 jobs”, President Tebboune stressed the imperative to “preserve this pace in the future”.
The President of the Republic was keen to point out that the wali “has all the prerogatives at the level of his province”, as well as “the right to take the decisions he considers appropriate in all sectors, with the exception of national defence and the pedagogical aspects of education”.
This year will see the “amendment” of the municipal and wilaya (province) laws with a view to “defining the real role of the elected representative so that he or she is not limited to that of a mere executor of decisions taken by the Daira or the province”.
In the same framework, periodic training of elected representatives will be carried out to enable them to become aware of all their prerogatives, so as to move away ‘definitively from authoritarianism and autocracy’, President Tebboune added.
The President of the Republic also hailed the work done by the walis, the various ministries and state institutions in the process of rescuing the national economy, given “the excellent results we have achieved today, which are rarely reached in the difficult global economic situation.
He also reviewed a number of indicators proving this fact, notably “the reduction of the import bill without depriving the citizen or forcing him into austerity”.
President Tebboune recalled, in this regard, that the import bill had fallen from 63 billion USD to 38 billion USD, stating that this approach “will continue in the future”.
Recalling the difficult economic situation Algeria has gone through, President Tebboune stressed that “the state will not collapse, as certain parties have predicted and relayed on social networks”.
The foreign exchange reserves which “currently exceed 60 billion dollars will allow Algeria, in the event of an economic crisis, to import for two (2) years without difficulty”, he reassured, specifying that “this should not be regarded as synonymous with waste”.
With regard to exports, President Tebboune expressed the wish to see export revenues double in the future. He recalled, in this regard, that “Algeria has, for the first time in its history, exported nearly 7 billion dollars outside hydrocarbons last year.
In the same context, the President of the Republic said that “economic growth has recorded a rate of 4.1% in 2022 and should reach 5% in 2023”.
Referring to the downward curve of the inflation rate, which currently stands at almost nine (9) per cent, the President of the Republic stated that “inflation, in our view, has reached an unacceptable level, even if it is below the inflation rates on a global scale.
President Tebboune also spoke of Algeria’s fight against dirty money, hoping to “make a definitive break with the dilapidation of public funds and the domination of dirty money, some of whose residues continue to feed the hotbeds of resistance to reform.
In this context, he stressed the need to fight “firmly against these practices, in favour of the supremacy of the Law and by consecrating the Authority of the State, with subtlety far from authoritarianism”, adding that “we are mobilised, today, more than ever to lead a merciless fight against corruption, corruptors and corrupted”.
Regarding the hoarded funds, the President of the Republic invited their holders to inject them into the national economy and to deposit them in banks, recalling that he had granted numerous guarantees in this regard.
On the diplomatic front, President Tebboune highlighted the successes achieved by Algeria in this respect, citing the Arab Summit it had hosted in early November, which had seen “the highest rate of participation in the history of previous Arab summits”, thereby undermining the allegations of “certain parties who had bet on its failure”.
This meeting was the Summit of the unification of the Palestinian ranks and “Algeria will continue on this path,” said the President of the Republic, expressing his wish that the State of Palestine becomes, this year, “a full member of the United Nations.
With regard to solidarity with the Western Sahara, President Tebboune reaffirmed that it was “a matter of principle for Algeria, which will not give up”.
He also expressed his wish that Libya could hold elections before the end of 2023.
