Anti-Corruption Institutions Ask For Help From Algerians

The National Authority for the Prevention and Combating of Corruption launched a questionnaire on the preliminary draft of this agency’s strategy to prevent and combat corruption, as part of an endeavor through which it seeks to crystallize a clear vision in dealing with the phenomenon of corruption, which paralyzed state institutions and put the country’s economy in a state of collapse difficult to overcome.
The Algerian citizens will contribute to the working out of the draft national strategy for the prevention and fight against corruption, said in Algiers, the president of the National Body for the Prevention and Fight against Corruption (ONPLC), Tarek Kour.

“We are going to allow citizens, via our website, to contribute to the working out of the draft national strategy of prevention and fight against corruption by taking into account their opinions, remarks and recommendations,” Kour explained at the end of a session of international technical consultations related to the implementation of this strategy.

Pointing out that the national and international consultations on the subject have come to an end and that the preliminary draft is in “its final phase”, the official stressed that his body has decided “to open the way for all citizens, without exception, to participate equally in the development of this strategy.
Mr. Kour also stressed the existence of the political will to develop this national strategy in the dynamics of a “new Algeria without corruption”, recalling the statements of the President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who insists on “the relentless fight against dirty money”.

In this sense, he explained that “this strategy is that of the Algerian state and works essentially, with the participation of all national actors, for the preservation of public funds and the rejection of all forms of corruption in respect of the rights and freedoms of citizens”, adding that “its success is conditioned by the will of everyone to curb this devastating phenomenon”.

The official stressed that through international consultations, “the ONPLC has been able to inform national representatives, as well as the main international organizations, of the approach adopted by Algeria, based on the participatory, inclusive and integrated approach”.

Experts also stressed the need for the allocation of sufficient human resources with specialization and expertise in the fight against corruption, as well as the mobilization of the financial resources necessary for the implementation of this strategy.

The establishment of effective cooperation and communication mechanisms between anti-corruption preventive bodies, as well as the promotion of an anti-corruption dynamic that guarantees human rights, were also recommended by the experts.

Setting priorities, as well as short, medium and long-term objectives, while providing the ONPLC with sufficient staff and funding as a key institution to fight corruption and carry out its role in promoting the principles of the rule of law, reflecting integrity, transparency and accountability in the management of public assets and funds, were also among the key recommendations.

It should be noted that the ONPLC is planning the entry into force of this strategy from the beginning of next year, according to its president, in accordance with the 2021-2025 plan drawn up by this body for the implementation of this national strategy.

After approval by public authorities, the draft will be entrusted to a commission that will be responsible for drafting the final version of the strategy, he explained, adding that it “should be unveiled next December”, on the occasion of International Anti-Corruption Day, celebrated on December 9.

As a reminder, Algeria, which was one of the first States to sign the United Nations Convention against Corruption in 2004, translated into the law on the prevention and fight against corruption in 2006, is today engaged in a process of formulating its first national strategy to fight corruption.

Article 20 of the Algerian law on the prevention and fight against corruption stipulates that the ONPLC’s mission is to “propose a comprehensive policy for the prevention of corruption, enshrining the principles of the rule of law and reflecting integrity, transparency and accountability in the management of public affairs and public property”.

This mission was enshrined in Article 203 of the 2016 revision of the Constitution. The development of the strategy was launched shortly after the appointment of the new President of the Body in May 2019.