Rabat – Days before the start of the holy month of Ramadan, a month where charitarian activities become numerous, hundreds of Algerians residing in the city of El Milia have been forming long queues to have a bottle of cooking oil.
Algeria traditionally experiences a shortage of cooking oil, especially in the month of Ramadan as demands become excessive.
The distribution of cooking oil, seen as a charity initiative, was organized by a shop owner with the blessing of the local authorities. As locals gathered to benefit from the initiative, a unit of the national gendarmerie, the mayor, and the governor, were all present to ensure the smooth running of the distribution operation.
The scarcity of such essential products in a country of enormous natural resources shows that Algeria is on the edge of a devastating economic crisis due to the mismanagement of natural resources and the prevalence of corruption among the political elite.
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Algeria has been chronically unable to meet its domestic needs of essential food products amid a growing inflation, leading to the emergence of the Hirak movement in 2019. After the worldwide propagation of COVID-19, protesters temporarily suspended their weekly demonstrations before resuming on Friday, February 26.
Among the protesters’ demands is the departure of the corrupt ruling elites who have drowned the country in debts and an unending cycle of social, economic problems.
To divert the domestic attention and international focus away from the gravity of Algeria’s dire internal situation, the Algerian media and the political-military establishment are directing the country’s energy and resources to other countries’ affairs. This comes with promoting misleading information and creating a foreign scapegoat.
