Ismail Al-Halouti
In news reported by many media outlets during the penultimate weekend of June 2023 about the best and worst cities in the world to live in in 2023, as the list of the ten best cities to live in in the world for the year 2023 was empty of any Arab city, while the list of the worst and unfit cities included There are three Arab cities to live in, namely the capitals of Algeria, Libya and Syria.
International observers and experts may understand that the Libyan capital, Tripoli, and with it the Syrian capital, Damascus, are among the worst 10 “livable” cities, according to what was stated in the 2023 Global Liveability Index, issued by the Economic Intelligence Unit. This is due to the social unrest and terrorist operations the first is known to, and the second is always considered one of the worst cities, especially in light of the struggle their countries are witnessing over seizing power since the outbreak of the so-called “Arab Spring” revolutions.
However, the strange thing that no one can understand is that Algiers tops the list of the worst “livable” cities instead of being the best. The strange aspect here lies in the fact that Algeria is the largest country on the African continent and among the richest because it is rich in enormous natural resources, enabling it to really become a “strike force” if the good and optimal exploitation of these diverse and precious resources were made. Especially since, as the available estimates indicate, it owns 340.1 million tons of oil, and its daily exports amount to 937 thousand barrels, of which 677 thousand barrels are crude oil, 80 thousand barrels are light oil and 180 thousand barrels are liquid oil, in addition to that there are abundant reserves. of natural gas estimated at 2,368 cubic meters, and hydrocarbon revenues (oil and gas) represent 93 percent of Algeria’s foreign exchange revenues, according to official government data…
This is without talking about the share of this “continental country” in gold, phosphate and uranium reserves and its acquisition of 8.5 million hectares for agriculture and other enormous natural resources that it enjoys, which are capable of making it a pioneering country and an economic power, so where do all these revenues and wealth go? That is the burning question that Algerian citizens have always repeated with great resentment and heartbreak, as they line up for long hours in front of shops and inside markets in order to get some foodstuffs…
At a time when it was possible for decision-makers during the past years to transform Algeria into one of the most developed and prosperous countries, and the countries in the region most capable of attracting foreign investments, the tyrannical military regime preferred to preoccupy itself with lost cases against Morocco, and thus missed the opportunity for his country to bypass the Gulf countries. In terms of wealth, urbanization, industry and tourism, and superiority over the countries of Southeast Asia, which were able to make giant economic strides in a few years despite their limited resources, and in the forefront are the countries of Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan, as well as in making the income of the Algerian citizen exceed his counterpart in the rest of the oil countries to ensure a decent life in all parts of the country.
How not when Algeria, as mentioned above, enjoys oil wealth that is rarely available to other Arab countries, including the Gulf countries themselves? It has reserves of oil that exceed the reserves of Gulf countries and is estimated at about 4 billion tons, and it occupies the seventh place in the Arab world in proven crude oil reserves, and it is one of the largest producing and exporting countries of gas, as it possesses one of the largest gas reserves in the world, equivalent to 30 thousand billion cubic meters. , in addition to other reserves of energy for more than fifty years. Because of the oil wealth alone, it accumulated huge cash wealth over the years, which was sufficient to advance the infrastructure, develop networks of roads, bridges, electricity, water and sewage, and establish a diversified industrial base that would create suitable job opportunities, eliminate widespread unemployment among young people, and fill the market needs of food commodities. And other than it.
However, the military cabarets in El Mouradia Palace refused except to persist in looting and squandering those billions of dollars and other wealth in their personal interests and supporting the separatist Polisario militias, as the available data indicate that this generous support in the direction of antagonizing Morocco in its territorial integrity and attempting to undermine its stability, drains what At least 30 million dollars a day since the fabrication of the conflict over the Moroccan Sahara in 1976, in addition to the rampant corruption within government and military institutions, and this is evidenced only by the domination of the cabanas over the economic scene and major imaginary projects, leaving the Algerian people mired in the swamps of hunger, poverty, unemployment and diseases. …