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Week ended November 21, 2001 - 116th.
Issue
The
North Africa Journal, its staff and collaborators
would like to express their deepest sympathy to the victims
of the recent floods in Algeria. We wish to express our
sadness for the loss of so many lives. Our thoughts are
with those who have lost relatives, friends, and property.
Maghreb
Climate
Global
Warming And the Changing Weather Patterns in the Maghreb
By Arezki Daoud
The
death toll from the most intense storm ever witnessed
in Algerian history, and probably in the whole North Africa
region, is mounting. So far, 733 bodies at the national
level were recovered. Most (683) were in the capital city
Algiers and the bulk in the old neighborhood of Bab El-Oued.
Other
regions hit by the storm were mainly western provinces
such as Tipaza with 10 confirmed deaths, 9 in Relizane,
13 in Chlef, and 5 in Tiaret. Deaths were also confirmed
Mascara, Aïn Temouchent, Mostaganem, Oran, Tlemcen
and Tizi Ouzou. This death toll is set to rise in the
final count since about 200 people are still unaccounted
for.
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 Morocco
- Airline
Government
Bailout and Restructuring at Royal
Air Maroc
By Arezki Daoud-
Royal
Air Maroc (RAM), Morocco's state owned airline is
to get a financial bail out with Dh 500 million capital
injection from the government. RAM and the Youssoufi
government are also working on a restructuring plan
aimed at helping the company avoid bankruptcy. RAM
is facing mounting losses due to declining ticket
sales and travel cancelations following the September
11th terrorist attacks on the United States. The company
is also troubled by its staffing and human resources
policies and the proposed restructuring plan, which
has not been disclosed to the public, is likely to
include major layoffs in spite of resistance from
labor unions.
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Tunisia
- Tourism
Tunisia
Faces
a Worsening Tourism Sector
By Arezki Daoud-
The
terrorist attacks against the United States and
the subsequent drop in air travel are creating a
major problem to the Tunisian travel industry. With
5 million foreign tourists, the industry accounts
for a sizeable portion of the state income in Tunisia
but the short and medium outlook is now uncertain.
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Algeria
- Natural Disasters
Floods
and Mudslides Kill More than 700 People: CHAOS IN
ALGIERS
By Arezki Daoud-
Terrorism,
poverty, economic turmoil, social collapse, riots
and now a natural disaster. Algerians have witnessed
all these calamities in such a long period of time
that the sense of hopelessness is a widespread feeling
among the vast majority of the population.
Although
oil and gas wealth was supposed to propagate, it
had an opposite impact as the Algerian middle class
has simply disappeared and the population living
below the poverty line mushroomed.
As
for the outlook, it is now bleaker than it was a
couple of weeks ago.
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Morocco-Spain
Morocco's
Explanations of its Troubled Relations with
Spain
By Arezki Daoud-
Morocco
and Spain are facing difficult diplomatic relations.
The crisis between the two is not new but it has
recently taken a worrisome turn when Morocco recalled
its ambassador to Madrid. When two direct neighbors
have so many issues such as immigration, regional
economics, narcotics, and other problems to deal
with, their quarrels can turn into a crisis. And
for Morocco and Spain it is now unfolding.
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Algeria
- Reform
Economic
stimulus strategy may increase inflation, erode purchasing
power - CNES
The
Economic and Social Advisory Council (CNES) has warned
that the government's Ad 525 billion economic stimulus
package may be boosting inflation rather than growth.
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Morocco
- Urban Affairs
Casablanca's
Looming Fiscal Crisis
By Arezki Daoud-
Greater Casablanca
is facing a budget crisis and its government, the
Communauté Urbaine du Grand Casablanca (CUC),
is in denial and does not know what to do. Casablanca's
2002 budget is estimated at Dh 514 million. The government's
debt amounts to Dh 260 million. But, putting aside
the debt, and in view of the needs of such a large
urban center, analysts say this budget in itself is
insufficient and will not be enough to respond to
the needs of a city the size of Casablanca.
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Algeria
- Media
Breaking
the State of Monopoly On Television From London:Khalifa
Acquires
ANN
By Arezki Daoud-
The
private Algerian enterprise Khalifa seems unstoppable.
Its airline subsidiary announced the opening on the
short term of a service linking Algiers to Johannesburg
but most importantly the group is diversifying by
investing in the media sector. Barred from investing
in the Algerian audio-visual sector proper, the company
has just announced that it acquired the London-based
Arab News Network (ANN), a satellite-based news television
that reaches the Arab world. Khalifa, one of Algeria
most promising private enterprises, was hoping to
establish a media and entertainment unit in Algeria
but it faced massive resistance and a state of monopoly
on broadcasting and television, prompting it to shop
abroad.
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Morocco
- Economy
Survey
Shows Signs of Slowing Economy
By Arezki Daoud-
The
latest report from the employer confederation CGEM
indicates that the Moroccan economy slowed during
the third quarter of 2001 (3Q01).
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Morocco
- Banking
BMCI
Acquires
ABN AMRO Bank Maroc
BMCI
Bank acquired 99.4% of ABN AMRO Bank Maroc.
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CONTACTING
THE
NORTH AFRICA JOURNAL
The
North Africa Journal & Maghreb Weekly Monitor are
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can easily be reached at journal@north-africa.com
regarding subscription issues or related matter
To
discuss business or advertisement opportunities, or
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and editor-in-chief at daoud@north-africa.com.
If
you have a request requiring immediate attention, please
contact us at:
Tel:
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