President of the Republic, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Minister of National Defense, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, chaired today, Sunday May 30, 2021, the regular meeting of the Council of Ministers, devoted to studying and approving a number of presentations and draft ordinances related to such sectors as justice, water resources, agriculture and rural development as well as culture. According to a statement by the Presidency of the Republic.
The statement said: “Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, President of the Republic, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Minister of National Defense, chaired today, Sunday May 30, 2021, the regular meeting of the Council of Ministers, devoted to studying and approving a number of presentations and draft ordinances related to such sectors as justice, water resources, agriculture and rural development as well as culture.
After hearing the report of the Prime Minister about the government’s activities during the last two weeks, the President gave the order to:
Exempt Algerian students and elderly people with low incomes, returning to the homeland, from paying the accommodation costs related to the quarantine measure.
Reduce the accommodation expenses by twenty percent (20%), for Algerians returning to the homeland.
Complete the section of the highway at the level of the axis of the wilaya of Bejaia and put it into service as soon as possible to improve commercial and economic traffic.
Give the highest priority to non-conventional water resources projects with the aim of enhancing potable water reserves and rationalizing water consumption.
Subsequently, the Council examined and approved a draft ordinance presented by the Minister of Justice, Keeper of the Seals, related to the protection of information and administrative documents.
The Council of Ministers also approved a draft ordinance that includes the amendment of Ordinance No. 66-156 of June 8, 1966, bearing the penal code, with the aim of strengthening the legal system to fight against terrorism, particularly by creating a national list of terrorist persons and entities.
The Council decided to postpone discussion and approval of the draft amendment to the Commercial Law, and draft Ordinance No. 66-156 of June 8, 1966, bearing the penal code in its part related to reviewing the decriminalization of the act of management and the work of enterprise management, until the election of the National People’s Assembly, to approve these important amendments to instill democratic practice.
The Council also listened to the presentation of the Minister of Water Resources on the national strategy for developing non-conventional water resources, to face up to water shortages.
After the end of the presentation, the President gave the order to:
Establish a national agency to monitor the operation of seawater desalination plants, under the authority of the Ministry of Energy.
Establish new desalination plants, taking into account the speed of completion and the strategic choice of their sites.
Activate all lines for seawater desalination plant to enhance water reserves.
Prevent the exploitation of groundwater in the Mitidja plateau and dedicate it exclusively for agricultural irrigation in the region.
Commenting on the presentation of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development regarding the preparation for the harvest season 2020-2021, the President of the Republic stressed on:
Adopting the available scientific means in order to raise the production levels of cereals.
Involving committees consisting of agricultural engineers to study the nature of agricultural lands and develop a strategic plan to organize production specialties.
Going more towards specializing in the production of durum wheat, as it is the most expensive in the international market, taking into account the nature of agricultural lands in Algeria, and working to exploit the surplus in domestic production of hard wheat and reduce the imported quantities of soft wheat.
Reviewing the map of cereal cultivation, especially durum wheat, according to the technical, geographic, and economic characteristics of each region, and preparing a comprehensive and realistic vision for a real revolution in the field of grain and seed production.
Carrying out awareness-raising campaigns on the largest scale to change the mentalities in this sector and working on more stimulation to raise the volume of production per hectare.
Regarding the presentation made by the Minister of Culture and Arts on the plan of action to revive the cinematographic industry and audiovisual production, the President of the Republic mandated the government to continue studying various aspects related to the revival of this sector by defining a number of major projects to structure this activity, stressing the need to integrate modern media for the distribution and consumption of the cinematographic and audiovisual product.
Before the conclusion of the session, the Cabinet approved a number of individual decisions related to appointment and termination of duties in senior state positions.
