Government Reshuffle Overthrows Five Ministers

President Bouteflika held, on Saturday, a partial amendment to the Government of the Prime Minister, Abdelmalek Sellal, through which he ended the functions of a number of ministers and other posts, and replaced them by new faces in the government, and the integration of the two ministries in one bag.

In this regard Sellal ended the functions of the Finance Minister, Abderrahman Ben Khalfa, and assigned it to Hadji Baba Ami, who was the Minister Delegate to the Finance Minister in charge of the budget and prospectives. 

Minister for Relations with Parliament, Taher Khaoua, was also replaced by the MP, Ghania Idalia, Minister for relations with parliament, as she worked as member of the Office of the National People’s Assembly, and Boudiaf Moatasem was appointed, Minister Delegate to the Minister of Finance in charge of the digital economy and modernizing the financial systems, and Boualem Bessaïah, was appointed State Minister, special advisor and a representative of the president of the republic.

The new amendment noticed the departure of one of the oldest ministerial figures, in the form of former Tourism Minister, Amar Ghoul, who maintained his presence in the executive branch since the first government of President Bouteflika in 2000, and was replaced by the former Minister of Water Resources, Abdelwahab Nouri.

Energy Minister, Saleh Khebri, was replaced by the former general manager of the company Sonelgaz, Noureddine Bouterfa.

Abdelkader Ouaali, who was Minister of Public Works, becomes the Minister of Water Resource, and the former Transport Minister, Boudjemaa Ralei, who maintained the old suitcase, and becomes the Minister of Public Works after the merger of the two ministries.

Sid Ahmed Feroukhi left the government along with the Agriculture and Rural Development Minister, and was replaced by Abdessalam Chalghoum, who who has ever served as Secretary General of the same ministry, in the era of the former minister, Said Barkat.

Prime Minister, Abdelmalek Sella, maintained the position of Prime Minister for the fifth time respectively, accompanied by the Ministers in sovereign bags, similar to Noureddine Badaoui, Interior and Local Groups Minister, and Ramtane Lamamra, as Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Minister, and Tayeb Louh as Justice Minister, and the Major General, Ahmed Gaid Salah, for the post of deputy of Defence Minister.

Majority of ministers also maintained their bags, notably Nouria Ben Ghabrit, at the head of the Education Ministry, and Abdelmadjd Teboune, at the head of the Housing Ministry, and Abdelkader Messahel, Minister of Maghreb and African Affairs and the Arab League, and Abdessalam Bouchouareb, Minister of Industry and Mines, and Tayeb Zitouni, Minister of Mujahideen (war veteran), Mouhamed Aissa, Religious Affairs Minister, Bakhti Belaiab, Trade Minister, and Tahar Hadjar, Minister of Universities, and Mohamed Mebarki, Training Minister, and Mohamed Ghazi, Labour Minister, and Azzedine Mihoubi Minister of Culture, and Hamid Guerine, Minister of Communication, and Houda Imane Fereoune, Minister of Post.