ALGIERS – Saturday, 15 July 2023 (APS) – Prime Minister Aimene Benabderrahmane said Saturday in Algiers that since his election, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has attached great importance to the fight against corruption in all its forms in order to build a new Algeria based on the rule of law.
Chairing the official launch of the National Strategy for Transparency, Prevention and the Fight against Corruption, on behalf of the President of the Republic, Benabderrahmane emphasized the importance of the fight against corruption.
Benabderrahmane stressed that “since his election, the President of the Republic has attached great importance to the moralization of public life and the fight against corruption in all its forms, as evidenced by the implementation of several commitments, notably those relating to the enhancement of good governance and the comprehensive reform of the Justice system to ensure its independence and modernization, as well as the promotion of participatory democracy and the building of a free, honest and active civil society, as part of the construction of a new Algeria founded on the rule of law and enshrining social justice, equality and participatory democracy, with the aim of achieving the well-being and prosperity of the citizen”.
On this occasion, he recalled “the interest shown in the creation of the High Authority for Transparency, Prevention and the Fight against Corruption and the broad prerogatives conferred on it, essentially empowering it to develop a national strategy for transparency, prevention and the fight against corruption.”
Benabderrahmane stressed that the 2020 Constitution “provides for several measures and provisions related to the prevention of and fight against corruption, in line with the international conventions ratified by Algeria, and various relevant articles, including the protection of the national economy against all forms of abuse, the promotion of the role of civil society to involve it in the management of public affairs, the obligation to declare assets and prevent conflicts of interest.”
He also underlined Algeria’s commitment, since its accession to the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption, to “contribute fully to efforts to combat corruption in Africa through its commitment to cooperate transparently with the African Union Anti-Corruption Advisory Council as part of the mechanism for monitoring the implementation of the said Convention.”
Algeria joined the Association of African Anti-Corruption Authorities (AAACA) in 2020, and is currently a member of the Executive Council representing North African countries”.
The PM also indicated that the National Strategy for Transparency, Prevention and the Fight against Corruption, which has been the subject of extensive national and international consultations, “constitutes one of the guidelines that will be adopted at the level of public institutions, the public and private economic sector and civil society.”
“Corruption is a transnational scourge with multiple ramifications and forms, hence the need for strategic planning based on scientific foundations and methodologies, drawing on the experiences of other countries and cooperating with organizations active in this field,” he continued.
In this connection, he called on foreign partners to help Algeria recover funds diverted to their countries.
“We are asking all the bodies and countries where the funds embezzled in the context of corruption are domiciled to help us recover them,” said the Prime Minister.
“It is not normal for these countries to ask us to fight corruption and refuse to help us recover the embezzled funds, sometimes even offering refuge to this money,” affirmed Benabderrahmane.