Algerian Institutions At The Mercy Of Foreign Data Centers !

The head of the Algerian Grouping of Digital Actors (GAAN), Bachir Tadjeddine, complains about “the delay in the development of government data centers and their entry into service despite their readiness, which, according to him, keeps Algerian institutions at the mercy of foreign data centers.”
In his address on Wednesday at the Sofital Hotel in Algiers, on the occasion of the fourth edition of the digitization forum, the latter said that due to the current great difference in terms of price and quality, between Algerian and foreign data centers, many prefer dealing with foreign institutions, but these centers affect Algeria’s digital sovereignty, and this imposes the need for the Algerian centers to enter service as soon as possible, and to activate economic activity in the digital field, and the grouping calls for supporting private sector institutions that have invested in data centers.
The spokesman added, “We appreciate the increase in the internet flow for all Algerians across the entire national territory without raising prices, but on the other hand, we are informed by several complaints about the instability of the flow speed,” adding: “We thank the Bank of Algeria for facilitating the export of services and enabling institutions to obtain their dues in hard currency in full. “.
With regard to the electronic certification file, the speaker considered that it is an essential basis for going to an e-government, as the Director of the Governmental Authority for Electronic Certification had previously promised it, in the second edition of the digitization forum, whose theme was “Management with Zero Papers”, especially since this ratification will reflect positively on the citizen, by facilitating administrative procedures, but today, after 6 months, things have not changed much.
The head of GAAN Grouping added, “We tried to find out the reasons that made government departments refrain from using electronic certification services, and we found that the exorbitant price, estimated at about 5 million dinars annually, may be behind these departments’ reluctance to acquire services,” stressing, “We are waiting for their launch quickly after opening the electronic certification of economic institutions.”
With regard to the Ministry of Interior and Local Assemblies, the spokesperson confirmed that Algeria has made great progress in terms of digitizing the civil status and the biometric identification card, but that there is no administration that uses the biometric card feature to determine the identity of the citizen.
Bachir Tadjeddine added that the Ministry of Interior provides many digital services, especially printing citizens’ documents, which reduced pressure on municipal desks, but digitization – according to him – is not printing documents on paper through a digital platform, but rather not using papers at all, considering that if successful the project of interconnecting the systems of all ministries and government departments, the citizen won’t be asked for any document except for the biometric card, and this is what the President of the Republic has requested on several occasions.
The head of the Grouping of Digital Actors in Algeria stressed that on the occasion of discussing the Finance Law for the coming year, the problem of customs duties applied to devices and hardware related to digitals, which directly affect prices, and this is not in line with the current trend and will of the authorities to encourage digitization and digital transformation.
According to Tadjeddine Bachir, president of the Algerian grouping of digital actors GAAN, no economy in the world can be competitive nowadays without a digitalization of all its sectors. He also added that the main grey area in view of an adequate digitalization of the national economy consists in the absence of the economic authority of electronic certification.
In this context, the president of GAAN explained that for the good development of our economy and in order for it to rise to the rank of economic power, the digitalization of this sector must be generalized. In the same vein, our speaker considered digitalization as a lever for the national economy.
In order to substantiate these statements, the GAAN president gave as an example the revenue from all electronic transactions throughout the world, which reached 726 billion dollars in 2020, which is equivalent to 36 times the hydrocarbon revenue of Algeria for the same year. He also added that the digitization of the economic sector will save time and thus money through the introduction of E-Payment and E-Administration.
Answering a question on the shortcomings recorded in this sector at the national level, the president of the Algerian grouping of digital actors, said that the main obstacle that prevents the proper conduct of the digitization of the economic sector on a large scale is the absence on the ground of the economic authority of electronic certification AECE, explaining that this body aims to facilitate trade between different operators whether national or international and this in a digital manner. In this same context, Tadjeddine Bachir, also specified that the Governmental Authority of Electronic Certification, still does not count any member in its ranks, explaining to this effect that this is due to a subscription fee reaching 5000 000 DA annually.