Mebtoul: “Finance Minister Benkhalfa threatened me on the phone owing to my statements”!
Professor Abderrahmane Mebtoul, Algerian economist and expert, has accused Finance Minister Abderrahmane Benkhelfa of uttering “threats” against him because of his contributions deemed by the Minister as “negative”.
“On Sunday, the 6th of December at 8h:53, the Finance Minister Benkhalfa phoned me and with barely veiled “threats”, he vehemently summoned me to almost shut up, and to refer to him when speaking about the Finance Ministry and said bluntly that my contributions were not worthy of an economic expert”, Professor Mebtoul underlined in a statement to “Echorouk”.
“I wanted to remind him that I am an independent and free man and not a servant at his behest”, added the economist. “I wanted to reassure him, (and most authorities in the country are aware of this), that I don’t covet any his post, or any other ministerial function, my only objective is promoting the best interests of Algeria”, Mr Mebtoul underscored to this effect.
“If the finance minister wants to discuss ideas and useful proposals for the country, I am at his disposal. I hope that the current finance minister who in the past had freedom of speech, can respect the ideas of others, that he will be up to the position he is holding now and that such threats should never be renewed”, Abderrahmane Mebtoul concluded.