O Yahyah highlights Butaflika's achievements

The Algerian prime minister yesterday presented the outcome of economic and social achievements realized in Algeria under the years of the rule of the Algerian President Abdul Aziz Butaflika 1999- 2003, recalling that this highlight has no connection with the current elections atmosphere.

O Yahya said that the year 2003 was a positive one at the economic growth level, noting that despite the crises of May earthquake "growth rate reached 6.8%, as testified by the International Monetary Fund." He added that Algeria "did not know such a rate since 1986 the year of oil prices collapse." He continued that Algeria's debts were reduced, for its turn to almost USD 22 billion, recalling that 70% of the debts are not in US dollars and not affected by the recent reduction in the Dollar value.

As for the government's spending, O Yahya said that it increased from 300 billion Algerian dinars in 1999 to 700 billion dinnars in 2003, which means, according to O Yahya, more and further investment and employment and solutions to social problems as investment value reached 3700 billion dinars, 500 billion dinars of which from the Algerian private sector and 800 billion dinars as foreign investment value and the left others are government's investments, while the investment of the private and foreign sectors investment in the area of small and intermediate establishments reached 60,000 establishments and ensured millions of job opportunities.

Most government investment concentrated in the area of social housing. He said that the volume of investment minimized the pressure of the unemployment crises which decreased from 29.5% in 1999 to 24.2% in 2003. After highlighting figures of the achievements, O Yahya concluded that the "volume of these achievements during the set period of time are unprecedented and covered all the Algerian soil."