Prime Minister, Mr. Abdelaziz Djerad, chaired, at the Government Palace here in Algiers, a cabinet meeting devoted to examining Five (05) draft executive decrees submitted by the ministers in charge of energy, transport, water resources, and tourism. Moreover, the cabinet listened to two (02) presentations made by the Minister of Finance and the Minister of National Education, according to a statement of the Prime Minister’s office.
The statement said, “The Prime Minister, Mr. Abdelaziz Djerad, chaired today, Wednesday, May 19, 2021, a cabinet meeting, held at the Government Palace.
According to the agenda, members of the government examined five (05) draft executive decrees submitted by the ministers in charge of energy, transport, water resources, and tourism.
Moreover, the government listened to two (02) presentations made by the Minister of Finance and the Minister of National Education.
- The cabinet listened to a presentation made by the Minister of Energy and Mines on two draft executive decrees which specify: (1) the requirements that must be met by the construction, installation and exploitation of pressure equipment (EPS), as well as the electrical equipment destined for integration into the facilities of the hydrocarbons sector, and the modalities of approving the relevant technical files by the hydrocarbon control authority, and (2) the modalities and procedure for obtaining a license to initiate production and voltage connection of the facilities and structures of the hydrocarbon activities.
The first draft decree aims to define the technical requirements applicable to pressure equipment (ESP), as well as the electrical equipment destined for integration into the facilities of the hydrocarbons sector, and also defines the modalities of approving the relevant technical files by the hydrocarbon control authority.
As for the second draft, it specifies the methods and procedures for obtaining a license to initiate production and voltage connection for the facilities and structures of the hydrocarbon activities, which is a prerequisite for obtaining the exploitation license.
- The cabinet also listened to a presentation made by the Minister of Public Works and Transport regarding a draft executive decree defining the procedures for opening transitional and current accounts, their functioning and control, as well as the conditions for chartering foreign ships.
This draft text, adopted in implementation of the provisions of Article 47 of the 2013Finance Law and prepared in coordination with professionals in this field, replaces the current system approved in 2014, which showed, after seven years of implementation, its limitations in light of the changes in the economic environment and the new requirements for maritime transport.
For this purpose, it is proposed to review this system, which must be adapted to the measures taken to simplify customs operations and transfer the amounts owed to ship processors and thus reduce the amount of demurrage transferred abroad.
- After that, the cabinet listened to a presentation made by the Minister of Water Resources on a draft executive decree amending and supplementing the executive decree No. 08-148 of 05/21/2008, which specifies the methods of granting a license to use water resources.
The amendments introduced to the draft text aim to give more transparency, simplification and facilitation in terms of granting licenses to dig wells for the extraction of groundwater, especially to encourage agricultural investment.
It also comes to address the problem of the lack of original contracts that justify the occupation of lands, especially for lands without ownership contracts.
Therefore, in order to fight bureaucracy and the slowdown in file processing, a deadline for processing license applications has been set at one (01) month at the latest.
- Then, the cabinet listened to a presentation made by the Minister of Tourism, Handicraft, and Family Work on a draft executive decree amending Decree No. 88-232 of November 05, 1988, which includes declaring areas for tourism expansion.
This draft decree allows the declaration of public benefit for the project of the central port of Hamdania in the municipality of Cherchell (the province of Tipaza) which is underway, by adapting the surroundings to the neighboring tourism expansion areas, considering the need to preserve the environment and cultural heritage of the region.
- After that, the cabinet listened to a presentation made by the Minister of National Education on the results of the working group entrusted with studying the autism file.
According to the instructions of the President of the Republic, given during the Council of Ministers held on April 18, a joint ministerial working group was set-up under the chairmanship of the Minister of National Education, to develop a national strategy to take care of autism.
On this occasion, a preliminary progress report was presented including the current situation of autism in Algeria, as well as the main elements for preparing a national strategy to take care of it.
Following the presentation, the Prime Minister recalled that the handling of this file that concerns several sectors must be carried out in full coordination in order to implement, in the best possible time, the following measures:
- Preparing and amending the regulatory texts that govern autism at the level of all concerned sectors, in consultation with experts and the scientific and civil community active in this field.
- Establishing a national reference center for autism, in partnership with foreign centers specialized and experienced in this field.
- Establishing a national higher school to train teachers specializing in autism.
- Establishing a national communication plan and devoting a national awareness day for autism disorders.
- Encouraging scientific research in the field of autism, in partnership with specialized international institutions.
- Finally, the cabinet listened to a presentation made by the Secretary-General of the Government, on behalf of the Minister of Finance, on four (04) draft deals by mutual agreement between the Independent National Authority for Elections and public institutions and companies related to the provision of services, tools and equipment as part of the preparation and organization of the legislative elections slated for next June 12, 2021.
