THE ALGERIAN PEOPLE ARE A TESTAMENT TOWARDS "SATYAGRAH" MOVEMENT BEING RELEVANT IN TODAY'S TURBULENT TIMES.. HERE'S HOW PEACE RESISTED AUTOCRACY IN ALGERIA.
Before diving into the topic its important to know about several issues plaguing the Algerian people:
Massive unemployment (1 in every 4 Algerian under 30 has no work, the issue being exacerbated by Demography as around 70% of the population is below 30.
The main reason for the initial protests in 2019 was the fact that The President, Bouteflika was in power from 1999. The man was now 82 years old, suffering from severe illness and bedridden frequently. Despite this, his part urged him to stand for a 5th term! The Algerians feel that their country deserve a more competent leader. Hence, the regular protests.
The most frustrating fact is that Algeria has the resources to prosper. It has huge natural gas reserves and is the sixth-largest gas exporter in the world. It also globally ranks 16th in proven oil reserves and third in shale gas reserves. Inspire of immense wealth, the situation of the common man is wretched. The Ministers indulge in cronyism & rooted corruption. The state owned Sonatrach owns 80% of hydrocarbon reserves. This SOE is engulfed in mismanagement, red tapism, corruptism & lack of business nous. Here, Algeria's predicament is quite similar to that of RUSSIA'S.
ALGERIA'S RESOURCE DEPENDENCE
The President is now different. However Tebboune was elected through a farce election as proclaimed by the protesters. Also the Ministers and their aides still remain in power. So the regime change actually changes nothing for the middle class Algerian. The system in Algeria resembles an Oligarchy in which a few people have control over resources of the economy (grossly oversimplified).
Now the Algerian people have been protesting against these malpractices peacefully, at every weekend from 2019. They have been brave & united in their approach.
HOW CAN THIS ECONOMIC CRISIS BE RESOLVED:
The first step should be to hold legit & valid elections which portray the choice of the people, not the oligarchs.
State owned Sonatrach should be split in several entities & half of it should be privatised. This will lead to inflow of FDI, better extraction, more employment & usage of advanced technology to a certain extent.
Every ministry should have a "Auditor-General" type of supervisor at national, state & local level to reduce systematic corruption.
The Government should stop its control over state media which has portrayed the protests in a negative light.
Most importantly, the Hirak (protests) should continue to mount more pressure on the government.
THANKS FOR READING. STAY SAFE.
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