Mobilization of Ambassadors and Consuls to convince Sonatrach’s customers to hike gas price!

The Chairman of the National Association of Algerian Economists, Mr Chabaiki Saâdane, has urged the government to speed up the launch of a wide-ranging campaign aimed at securing a hike in the Algerian gas price on the international market, describing the current world price of this vital energy product as not fair given the accrued output expenses.

He said that such a move was quite necessary in order to shore up the country’s export revenues in the light of the sharp decline registered over the past year in the oil prices on the world market causing a marked deficit in the state coffers.

Mr Saâdane Chabaiki told “Echorouk” to this effect that the economic situation now gripping Algeria does not bode well for the future because of low oil revenues, while calling on the government to reconsider its public spending policy and to allow money transfers between Ministries so as to enable the sectors that haven’t exhausted all their financial allocations to lend to other ministerial departments with a view to implementing various basic infrastructure projects.

Mr Chabaiki further called on the government to do more to secure a raise in the price of gas, which is sold at private cost during the summer season worldwide, he said.

In so doing, he affirmed that Algeria should rely on its diplomats posted in foreign countries to persuade the latter through negotiations to review upward the price of gas in their future order transactions with the national hydrocarbons company “Sonatrach” so as to scale up the country’s dwindling revenues and to ward off a damaging economic recession.

Furthermore, he referred to the recent proposal put forth by the head of the national enterprises forum, (FCE) Mr Ali Haddad, to the government to “freeze” state subsidies for fuel, water and electricity describing it as “logical and reasonable” on account of the country’s dire economic juncture brought about by the slumping world oil prices.

The Chairman of the Algerian Economists’ Association also brought out the imperious need to fully involve the Algerian private sector in financing projects and to take bold steps to stamp out the lingering specter of red-tape and bureaucracy notably regarding banking procedures in order to give a fresh impetus to the national economy.