Government fails to solve people’s problems

Opposition parties and political personalities believe that violent acts in Tougourt in the province of Ouargula (south of Algiers) are an inevitable result of the State’s failure.

Leader of Fajr Jadid party Taher Benbaibeche said solutions can not be solved without a legitimate authority.

“Injecting projects and money to treat such problems has nothing to do with a legitimate system,” he told Echorouk on Sunday.

“The desert does not need studies and a long time to distribute some lands on residents. Giving 60 million centimes to victims’ family is a shame,” he added.

He also said a weak government is exposed to people’s pressure. This leads to disequilibrium.

Secretary General of Islah Movement Djahid Younsi says events in Tougourt reflect the State’s failure to guarantee people’s constitutional and social rights. “This shows that the State has given up its missions.”

“I am sorry for outdated methods used by the State to treat those problems. Unfortunately, the government still treats problems in old ways and does not look for the real causes. It just gives painkillers. This shows that protesters can not obtain their rights,” he told Echorouk on the phone.

“In a country where human rights are respected, the government should anticipate things and look at people’s concerns,” he added.

Lakhdar Benkhelaf, member of Parliament and leading member of the Justice and Development Front believes that the events in Tougourt reflect what happens in the whole country.  

“The government relies on the State’s Treasury to calm down the situation. Those painkillers are not efficient,” he told Echorouk.

Representative of Dignity Party Mohamed Daoui calls for radical solutions to such events. “The state is in a very comfortable financial situation. It can solve problems and improve people’s living conditions without waiting for tragic events to happen,” he said.

According to deputy Nacer Hamdadouche, press attaché at Algeria’s Green Alliance, the country experiences an unprecedented weak situation due to a political vacuum.

He believes that the Tougourt events took place because political responsibility towards people was not beard.

“Those protests clearly show the government’s failure in development and unfair distribution of wealth,” he said.