The Minister of Interior, Local Authorities, and Transport, Said Saayoud, has affirmed that there will be no reversal of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s decision to provide a travel grant of 750 euros to Algerian citizens. Instead, legal frameworks are being strengthened to prevent misuse and exploitation by intermediaries.
Responding to inquiries from members of the National People’s Assembly during a discussion on the traffic law, Minister Saayoud stated, “There is no decision to retract the travel grant, which the President has established as a right for Algerian citizens. This grant aims to enable families to spend their vacations abroad comfortably and in excellent conditions.” He emphasized the commitment to reinforce legal safeguards to prevent the grant from being diverted for other purposes.
One proposed solution, according to the Minister, involves requiring beneficiaries to possess a bank card to ensure proper tracking of the grant’s disbursement. He also revealed instances of fraudulent practices employed by some travel agencies to obtain the grant illegally. This involved transporting travelers from Algeria to Tunisia legally, marking their passports, allowing them to stay for a few days, and then re-entering them into Algeria through unguarded border crossings.
The Minister highlighted the unusual increase in bus traffic to Tunisia, stating, “We recorded the entry of 5,000 buses into Tunisia between November and December. Algerians do not typically travel to Tunisia during this period. This observation was also noted by our Tunisian counterparts, and we discussed this issue last week on the sidelines of the Algerian-Tunisian Joint Grand Cooperation Committee.”
Following these observations, Minister Saayoud noted that numerous monitoring operations were conducted to ascertain the destination of the grant. These operations uncovered the exploitation of 100,000 unemployed individuals by these travel agencies. “These alarming figures led us to halt the transit of these buses and require permits for crossing the Algerian border into Tunisia. To date, we have not registered any permit requests,” he added.
In conclusion, Minister Saayoud emphasized that these fraudulent activities have not benefited Algeria, the families, or Tunisia. Instead, the funds have been exploited by brokers and used for undisclosed purposes. The government is committed to curbing these practices and ensuring the travel grant serves its intended purpose.
