The Expression: National – Charcoal Benabderrahmane

The National People’s Assembly is at the rendezvous today with the Government’s General Policy Statement, which will be read by Prime Minister Aïmene Benabderrahmane. A key event, in this last quarter of the year 2022, moreover, very spied on and widely commented on by scholars and other observers of the national political scene.
The presentation of the Government’s General Policy Statement will be the major attraction during the few days devoted to debates and responses, which will be provided by the Prime Minister. An exercise, the first of its kind for Benabderrahmane, is not easy given that it is an overall assessment of the state of application of the government plan presented in September 2021. A sort of assessment of stage of the various actions initiated since his inauguration to date. The exercise is not, either, without collateral damage, since it will be subject to a debate in plenary session and therefore, at the center of criticism and a rigorous evaluation of the deputies of the Assembly. Although the fundamental law of the country does not provide for a motion of censure leading to a disavowal of the Prime Minister and therefore the departure of his government, the fact remains that the expected debates promise to be lively, given the persistent echoes of the Zirout Youcef hemicycle. On a political level, the impact of the debates and questioning against Prime Minister Benabderrahmane could undermine the capital of trust between the government and the APN. However, believe some seasoned observers, beyond the intensity of the debates and the level of criticism that will be formulated within the hemicycle of the National People’s Assembly, Benabderrahmane benefiting from a comfortable political majority, should not be worried, beyond measure, by this institutional exercise, admittedly a hard one, but, nevertheless, formal and ordinary. At the same time, certain ministers will be called, for sure, to climb to the perch of the APN, to provide the elements of answers essential to the questions of the deputies. It should be noted, in this regard, that no less than 300 questions were addressed by the office of the National People’s Assembly to the Prime Minister, concerning the evaluation of government action which extends from September 2021 until last redesign. The exercise to which Benabderrahmane will comply is governed by the provisions of article 111 of the Constitution, which stipulates that “the Prime Minister or the head of government, as the case may be, must present annually to the National People’s Assembly a Declaration of general policy”. The exercise will provide better visibility for the government’s Action Plan and may, if necessary, give rise to a correction of the trajectory of certain sectoral programs or additions. In any case, in the eyes of certain observers of the economic scene, the government of Benabderrahmane is called upon to comment on the delays noted in the implementation of structural reforms, a point of contention with certain international authorities.
Other no less important files will also be at the heart of the debates which promise to be intense. This is the famous issue of public subsidies and social transfers, which continues to worry economists. We will also note the questions relating to the taxes imposed on liberal functions, another point of contention which will not fail to poison the atmosphere within the hemicycle.
The status of self-employed entrepreneur and the related application texts, the exemption and clearance of trades related to new technologies, and the delays recorded in the implementation of regulatory texts will be just as exciting. But two files will probably focus the attention of the deputies. It is about the start of the school year, with its share of problems and difficulties observed, as well as the famous file of car imports which continues to produce terrible paradoxes. Finally, the abolition of certain ministerial departments, during the last reshuffle carried out by the President of the Republic, in particular that of energy transition, start-ups and that of water resources, will certainly raise questions, after all , legitimate.
It should be noted that the Prime Minister is required to answer the questions raised by the deputies and this, at the end of the interventions during the general debate. It should be recalled, moreover, that the draft Declaration of general policy of the government was the subject of an examination in the Council of the government before being submitted to the approval of the Council of Ministers.