ALGIERS – Monday, 23 October 2023 (APS) – The Minister of Interior, Local Authorities and National Planning, Brahim Merad stressed Monday the need to ramp up anti-corruption efforts, one of the main obstacles to the deep reforms launched by public authorities, as part of the implementation of the commitment of the President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune.
Speaking at a meeting held by the High Authority for Transparency, Prevention and Fight against Corruption to announce the creation of the Algerian transparency network “We Watch You Over” (Narakom) and the official launch of its digital platform, Merad stressed the need “to intensify the efforts of all stakeholders to address this scourge through a joint and coordinated action and raise the awareness of citizens about the culture of referral.”
Corruption in all its forms “is one of the main obstacles to the smooth process of deep reforms launched by the public authorities, as part of the implementation of the commitments of the President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune.”
In this regard, the minister affirmed that he instructed the governors “to take several measures to address administrative corruption and improve public service through the consolidation of control mechanisms within different services, the activation of legal watch and reporting to central services, the enshrinement of transparency and the right to information.”
For her part, Salima Mousserati, President of the High Authority for Transparency, Prevention and the Fight against Corruption warned against the dangers of corruption, which is “a cross-border crime and a devastating weapon slowing down national development and weakening infrastructures,” recommending “the implementation of an integrated system based on a structuring of the various procedures relating to the prevention and fight against this scourge.”
Speaking on this occasion, Noureddine Benbraham, President of the National Observatory of Civil Society, highlighted the “key role” of civil society in State policy after the 2020 Constitution, and its role in supporting the implementation of reforms, strengthening transparency and eradicating corruption.
“Corruption destroys development, infrastructure and the cohesion of societies,” he asserted, stressing that the State “is working to make civil society the guarantor of the protection of public funds.”
He called associations to “conduct awareness-raising and prevention campaigns using referral mechanisms, led by the Algerian Transparency Network “Narakom”.