Sellal: “Pre-retirement option foreseen for workers accomplishing very strenuous jobs”

Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal said that the newly-adopted provision fixing the age for retirement to 60 years may be curtailed for very strenuous jobs in certain sectors of activity, stressing that the latter could benefit from the special pre-retirement option assigned only for this category of workers.

He pleaded in this respect for a “rehabilitation of the value of labor,” but noted that Algeria “is no longer living in a period of financial bonanza”.

He added that “if the government has duly revamped its economic model, it will strive, however, to maintain the social character of the state”. 

Mr Sellal further noted that the agricultural sector has an “important role to play in building a strong national economy and free from oil dependency”. 

He also underlined that the measures contained in the next 2017 Finance Act requiring importers to invest locally, “will be expanded to also cover importers of dairy products”.

Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal asserted that the Finance Act 2017, which will be discussed this week, will introduce some amendments to enhance the national economy without affecting the citizens’ purchasing power.   

The Finance Act 2017, which will be under perusal this week, will bring some amendments to enhance the economic situation and strengthen the social front, Mr Abdelmalek Sellal told the press in Algiers on the sidelines of the opening of the parliamentary session.

The Finance Act 2017 “reflects the implementation of the first year of the new political and economic model” that aims at “bolstering the national economy and spurring investment, mainly the local one, and consolidating industrial and agricultural production,” the Premier added.  

He stated that taxes will experience a slight increase that will not affect citizen’s purchasing power.

“State will continue to build housing units, schools and hospitals,” he affirmed.

Mr Sellal also said that as part of the Finance Act 2017 “overall balances will be maintained” despite the fall in oil price, and GDP will even be upgraded.

“In 2017, we will no more import cement, we will rather shift to export activities,” he noted.

“The State will enforce new measures to develop the industry of knowledge and beef up technological industries,” Mr Sellal underscored.