Zemali: “National Pension Fund (CNR) Suffers From A Deficit Of 580 Billion Dinars”

The Minister of Labor, Employment and Social Security, Mourad Zemali, revealed that 43 percent of workers are not affiliated to the social security services, stressing that the national pension fund (CNR) recorded a deficit of 580 billion dinars, while excluding any clearing of the financial debts incurred by numerous beneficiaries of the ANSEJ youth employment projects.

He affirmed that the relevant files of these defaulting and indebted people would be conveyed to justice.

“The unemployment rate is slightly declining in Algeria,” stated the Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Security in Algiers on Monday, stating that the 2019 Finance Draft Law has allocated a large financial package, for those sectors of activity that provide jobs.

Mr.Mourad Zemali further denied any freeze by the Government of youth support programs.

The guest of the National Radio Forum pointed out that the unemployment rate has been around 11.1% until April 2018 according to the National Statistics Office (ONS), which compiles its data according to International Labour Organization (ILO) standards, ensuring that the rate was set at 11.7% in 2017.

That said, the rate of 10.1% (2017) has risen to 9% for men while it has risen from 19.5% to 20.5% for women, he indicated to this effect.

“We strongly encourage young people to move towards the setting up of new enterprises”, because, such an endeavor is the best way to fight the unemployment scourge”.

To this end, he recalled that the 2019 Finance bill maintained all the facilities granted so far by the relevant authorities.

In addition, Mr. Mourad Zemali’s ministerial department will launch a platform meant to ensure an equitable distribution of employment opportunities in the southern part of the country.

According to the Minister, the move was due to repeated complaints stemming from residents of the Algerian Deep South who felt they had been wronged about the granting of jobs in their own southern regions.