Algerian Government Allocates Additional Budget To Counter Corruption
Through the open financial appropriations for 2024, the Algerian government has allocated a huge budget to fight corruption and monitor public property and funds, in exchange for commitment licenses equivalent to DZD 184 billion and payment appropriations exceeding DZD167 billion for the justice sector, a budget that will be directed primarily to cover the expenses of judicial activity, prison administration, suppression of corruption, and public administration of the sector.
According to the details obtained by Echorouk, the authorities allocated significant sums to cover the expenses of the Supreme Court, oversight and evaluation of judicial rulings, unification of judicial jurisprudence, the Council of State, and the Supreme Judicial Council, to ensure the independence of the judicial authorities, in addition to other appropriations for the Constitutional Court, the Accounting Council, the Oversight of Public Property and Funds, and the Supreme Authority for Transparency, Prevention and Combatting corruption, which are bodies that reduce corruption, control abuses, and prevent law violations.
In terms of numbers, DZD 82 billion were allocated to judicial activity and DZD 97 billion to prison administration, compared to DZD 2.1 billion to suppress corruption and DZD 4.6 billion to public administration, while the government allocated DZD 2.2 billion to prevent and combat corruption, and the same amount was allocated to the management of the Supreme Authority for Transparency, Prevention and Combatting Corruption.
Regarding the imposition of control over public property and funds included in the draft finance law for 2024 and the estimates for the years 2025 and 2026, DZD 15.1 billion have been allocated to carry out this process.
A budget of DZD 46.04 billion was allocated for commitment licenses and DZD 10.26 billion for payment appropriations directed to the completion of two penal institutions with a capacity of 1,000 prisoners in Beni Abbes and Illizi and two others with a capacity of 2,000 prisoners in Ouargla and Timimoun (Southern Algeria), with a value of DZD 28.36 billion for commitment license and DZD 5 billion for payment appropriations.
The allocation of this large budget to build four penal institutions came after the overcrowding that most penal institutions experienced due to the increase in the number of people convicted and prosecuted in corruption cases that were opened on the judicial agenda since 2019.
Three judicial councils will also be completed in Oum El Bouaghi, Bordj Bou Arreridj (eastern Algeria) and Naama (Western Algeria), worth DZD 10.5 billion in commitment licenses and DZD 1.5 billion in payment credits, as well as 3 new courts at the level of the municipalities of Massaad, Hassi Bahbah, and Had Sahara in the state of Djelfa (southern Algeria) worth DZD 3.46 billion in commitment licenses and DZD 0.9 billion in payment credits.
In contrast, and under the title “Subtotal of Ministerial Program Portfolios,” DZD 11.5 billion has been allocated to the highest judicial body, which is the Supreme Court, and the same amount was allocated to monitor and evaluate judicial decisions and unify judicial jurisprudence, while in 2024 the government allocated DZD 13.9 billion to the Supreme Judicial Council and the same amount to ensure the independence of the judicial authorities.
