Experts: Corruption and lack of transparency prevent investments in Algeria

Algeria is ready to get out of the absolute dependency on hydrocarbons, after 40 years of official speech, which called for disengagement dangerous hydrocarbon revenues, an economist and former minister Omar Sakhri said, during a symposium on “Algeria’s economy during 50 years”, which focused on hydrocarbons, agriculture, industry and taxation system, in cooperation with the faculties of economic sciences and management at Algiers University 3.

“Algeria is living in a contrived way since the first oil shock in 1973. Algeria’s real crisis back to about 40 years earlier, because of the failure to get out of the dependency on hydrocarbons, and building an alternative economy, despite the abundance of energy in the country. The main reason for the reluctance of foreign investments to Algeria is corruption, lack of transparency and instability of the economic legislation”, he added.

For his part, the economist Sheikha Belkacem Khalifa, a specialist in the economics of energy said; “Successive governments since independence share one common crisis, which is the closer link with hydrocarbons and absolute failure to diversify the Algerian economy, adding that the Algerian people do not export power with more than 1%, after 50 years of obtaining independence. Successive governments are embarrassed in dealing with a very dangerous reality for future generations, which is “the post-oil era is always oil”, even if this requires the start of the promotion of unconventional exploitation of sources such as the rocky fuel”.

“Algeria and despite the various talk about achievements after independence, in front of a dangerous paradox, is that the country has moved from the colonial dependency, to dependency on oil, and this because of the failure of decision makers since independence, to benefit from the competitive advantages of the country, including the energy at competitive prices and geographical proximity to Europe. Energy, which is considered one of the most important factors of evolution, did not allow Algeria to achieve development”.