ALGIERS-President of the Republic Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Sunday expressed his discontent with the management of certain development projects in marginalized areas and the banking sector, hailing the progress made in key sectors like pharmaceutical industry and startups.
Speaking at the Council of Ministers meeting ahead of a presentation on the performances of the Government last year, President Tebboune gave instructions to revive the sectors having a direct impact on citizens’ daily life by “stepping up efforts” from early 2021.
As for the sector of Interior and Local Authorities, the president of the Republic focused on the need to distinguish between local development programmes.
However, the Head of State welcomed some positive initiatives like water and gas supply through tankers in certain border regions.
Nevertheless, he warned against the continuation of water supply by rudimentary methods, a tragedy of which children have been victims.
The President of the Republic also pointed out the negative aspects noticed in certain sectors of activity, stressing that the balance sheet of ministerial performance for 2020 is rather “mixed” with “positive and negative results.”
The Head of State also spoke of a “black spot” that taints the Finance sector, namely the banking system that should be reviewed through an inspection work at banks and transparency in credit granting.
He also gave instructions to step up the digitization of the customs sector in order to fight against over-invoicing and to absorb the funds circulating in the parallel market.
In this regard, the President of the Republic advocated the acceleration of the digitization of various sensitive sectors of economic importance, including taxes, customs and domains, in order to provide public authorities with the tools necessary for the establishment of its policies, their implementation and assessment.
As for the mining sector, Tebboune stressed the need to continue efforts to develop the mining. He gave instructions to start, as soon as possible, the effective exploitation of the iron mine of Ghar-Djebilet and the zinc and phosphate deposit of Oued Amizour.
Concerning the fishing sector, he gave instructions to the local naval industry with all facilities in order to develop the national fleet and enhance the production capacities for the supply of the market.
Investigation into tainted wheat import
The Council of Ministers also discussed the sector of Agriculture and Rural Development.
President Tebboune ordered the opening of an investigation into the import of tainted wheat from Lithuania. He also instructed the Minister of Finance to carry out an audit within the Algerian Interprofessional Cereals Office (OAIC).
He also welcomed the “tangible progress” made in vital sectors such as the pharmaceutical industry, start-ups and support for youth employment.
He recalled the importance of reaching the goals outlined in the pharmaceutical industry sector in order to increase national production capacity for various pharmaceutical products and reduce imports at the beginning of 2021.
President Tebboune also referred to the need to continue the necessary preparations to launch the vaccination campaign against Covid-19 from January following a “flawless” organization.