THE
NORTH AFRICA JOURNAL
143rd. Issue
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Algeria's
2004 Elections: Differentiating
Bouteflika's Economic Program to that of Rival Benflis By Arezki Daoud, Editor
Although the likelihood of Bouteflika's reelection is certain, it is worth looking at where the various candidates to the Algerian presidential election stand when it comes to the economy. The Algerian electorate will choose to either give a new mandate to Bouteflika, the mostly likely outcome, or to elect a new president, with the first voters, the expatriates living abroad slated to begin casting their votes this coming Saturday.
Pressure
from US Corporations to Renew Ties with LibyaBy Alessandro Bruno, Libyan Affairs Analyst
At the end of February the United States removed travel restrictions to Libya for American citizens. It is an important event in the U.S.-Libya relations, paving the way for a lifting of the sanctions imposed by United States on the North African country. In addition, the U.S. government extended an invitation to Tripoli to open an interest section in Washington while as mentioned in earlier updates, the US have set up diplomatic relations in Tripoli, ostensibly tied to the overview of the ongoing weapons inspections.
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Environment
North Africa Braces for a New and Fast Growing Desert Locust Plague
[By Arezki Daoud]
There is an ongoing but less-publicized war in North Africa and the enemy are millions of Desert Locusts. The efforts to contain the movement of these devastating insects are enormous to the point where the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which is affiliated to the United Nations has recently called for help and urged donor countries to contribute with $6 million to organize the fight in Mauritania. The international organization is also seeking another $3 million to cover the neighboring countries of Mali, Niger and Chad to the south. The FAO already issued a desert locust alert in October 2003, when it identified that desert locust outbreaks in the region as a major threat to crops.
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Oil and Gas
First Quarter Ends with Good Discovery Record for Sonatrach
[By Arezki Daoud] The Algerian oil company Sonatrach announced the discovery of new reserves of condensates in the region of Brides, some 50 kilometers north of the Gassi Touil field in the province of Tamanrasset. The discovery followed the drilling of a 5,300 meter test well in the Brides ouest section or BRDW1. The tests on the Brides well yielded 825,000 cubic meters of condensates per day and 30 cubic meters of gas per hour. Learning from experience, this latest discovery is Sonatrach second find in the first quarter of this year that did not involve a foreign company. Sonatrach also used its own resources to complete the task. Further discoveries in the area are expected to be announced when confirmed
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Trade
Review of French-Algeria Trade and Morocco's Export Competitiveness
Trade exchanges between Algeria and France have more than doubled since 1994, reaching €6.7 billion in 2003, up from 6.5 billion euros in 2002. And although French exports to Algeria fell by 0.5% in 2003, the north African country's market remains a key destination to French goods and services, as Algeria's global imports have also stagnated. In Morocco, the department of general economic policy (Direction de la Politique Economique Générale or DPEG) issued a severe opinion on the country's export performance. In a report published in February 2004, the DPEG stated "Moroccan exports have recorded a counter-performance over the past few years, despite a favorable environment characterized by the strengthening of the Euro currency and the establishment of new policies and measures aimed at boosting Morocco's competitiveness." This article review the latest data on trade in the two countries.
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Transport Infrastructure
First Metro Subway Line in Algiers to Open in 2007, High-Speed Trains in Planning
Urban and transport planners in Algiers are working to restructure the city's circulation and traffic patterns to establish better fluidity and to accommodate the construction of the metro subway system. Other large cities across the country will follow and review their traffic schemes in an effort to "bring them on par with international standards," according to public works minister, Amar Ghoul.
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Corporate Affairs/Telecommunications
Maroc Telecom Releases Higher Results, Will Focus on Internet Access and DSL for Future Growth
Maroc Telecom (MT) continues to produce positive performances. Its revenue for fiscal year 2003 reached DH 15.2 billion, a 3.4% increase from the previous fiscal year. The company's sales are so large in Moroccan standards that it represents the equivalent of 3.5% of the Kingdom's gross domestic product, and indeed, Maroc Telecom is the biggest single contributor to the country's treasury. With these latest results, the Moroccan treasury will get its share from the telecom firm with DH 6.2 billion, in which DH 1.8 billion will represent dividend payment for the state's stake in the firm.
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Construction
Assessing the Damages from the Quake in El-Hoceima
Death and destruction were the results of the earthquake that rocked the Moroccan province of El Hoceima recently. Nearly 600 people perished when the quake hit the region in the middle of the night, but the destruction of buildings and houses was equally important, to the point were entire villages may be completely destroyed before being rebuilt.
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Markets
Algeria: Government Re-enters the Academic Book Market
Recently the Algerian ministry of higher education and scientific research sent a memo to all heads of academic institutions, universities, and schools of higher education, as well to directors of research centers, informing them that "they now have the possibility to purchase imported books and instructional materials from a government-owned organization." The note took book publishers and school decision makers by surprise, in particular as academic institutions have begun to receive their budgets for the upcoming school season. But for many, the note was not just an invitation. Indeed it stated that "it would be advisable that buyers should contact the book office, OPU, a unit of the ministry, to order their books and instructional material and to avoid private distributors, unless there is an exceptional reason." The note argues that OPU could indeed provide lower price books and materials.
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Tourism
Morocco Targets Germany in New Tourism Marketing Wave
If you live in Germany, you will soon likely see new ads to promote Moroccan vacation destinations. A number of marketing contracts were signed last week in Berlin aimed at boosting German entry into Morocco, which thus far average 40,000 per year. Agreements are multi year and involve travel organizations and agencies that manage their own aircraft fleets. The Moroccan government will invest in future marketing campaigns to benefit German travel operators, who will handle the logistics.
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Oil and Gas
Shell Reenters Libya, Explores New Opportunities in Algeria
The Royal Dutch Shell's Libya unit, the Shell Libya Petroleum Development BV, signed a Heads of Agreement with the Libyan oil company National Oil Corporation (NOC) paving the way for the re-entry of the oil giant in the North Africa country. The signing ceremony occurred during the visit of the British premier, Tony Blair to Tripoli. In Algeria, Naftal also signed a memorandum of cooperation (MoC) with Shell, which paves the way for future partnership between the two companies in the currently government-controlled domestic distribution sector.
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