Electricity, fuel prices surprisingly increase
الشروق أونلاين
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Abderrahmane Benkhalfa, Algeria's finance minister. Photo: Echorouk
Session of discussing amendments to the Finance Act 2016 lasted, until 5:00 am, at the headquarters of the National People’s Council, in the presence of the Finance Minister, Abderrahmane Benkhalfa, who pulled out of the session at midnight after he was asleep, then the Finance and Budget Committee members continue to discuss the amendments until 5:00 am on Friday, as the process noticed a sharp discussions that ended with the drop of Article 66, with maintaining the increases in fuel and electricity.
Sources from within the Finance and Budget Committee at the parliament told Echorouk that the discussion of the Financial Law amendments lasted 14 hours, and noticed a raging conflict between the Finance Committee MPs, regarding the controversial and unpopular materials, which were the focus of a large debate, that lasted from 3:00 pm to 5:00 am on Friday.
It was agreed upon to drop Article 66, which provides for the opening of national companies, and allow the selling without restriction for foreigners through the stock exchange, including Sonatrach, Sonelgaz and banks, as this article was described by opposition MPs as harming the symbols of national sovereignty, while the Finance Minister, Abderrahmane Benkhalfa, insisted on keeping Article 71, which ignited the anger of the House of Representatives, who said it attacks their powers due to the controversy about it, especially as it returned again to the Commission, which was already dropped in the preliminary report of the law.
Benkhalfa defended the article 71, and managed to include a simple amendment on them after the justifications that were proposed, and which persuaded the pro-government parties and sparked the opposition’s anger, especially as it provides for granting the Finance Minister the power to freeze or cancel the funds in the case of financial imbalances’ occurrence, without returning to Parliament, which blew the anger of opposition MPs, especially the mass of workers who have threatened to withdraw, arguing that the re-launch of this article again after dropping it down is a violation of law by the Finance Minister.
According to the same sources, the increases in fuel and electricity prices of the waiver fees on the property, and the 9th Article, which included the abolition of fees for real estate advertisement, will remain, despite the social fronts revolutions, that opened fire on these increases, that would affect, primarily, the living ability of the majority of Algerians.
