#Algeria : The shortage of edible oil is more than real. The jostling that we thought was over are back. The shortages and the decisions of the leaders including the prohibition of minors to buy oil are hijacked and parodied on social networks.
And the explanation put forward by Prime Minister Aïmène Benabderrahmane is as convoluted as the denial of any shortage by Minister of Commerce Kamel Rezig. According to Benabderrahmane, this is a malfunction which “results from the procedures and formalities carried out by certain factories towards the end of each year, such as the inventory operation which leads to a drop in the rate of distribution”. An explanation that does not convince anyone especially when the Algerian authorities claim that production had reached more than 2,000 tonnes / day for a demand amounting to only 1,600 tonnes / day.
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And this difficulty of the Algerian citizen to find oil, despite the assurances of the authorities, is not likely to appease the start of a new year, already marked by the high price of widely consumed products. The threats from the authorities and the entry into force of the anti-speculation law with heavy prison sentences (3 to 10 years) and fines (1 to 2 million dinars, or 6,350 to 12,700 dollars) imposed on traders n haven’t changed much.
And today, in Algeria, buying a bottle of oil is a real obstacle course. Evidenced by the scramble in Algiers in front of a store to get cans of table oil. Clearly, the shortage is real and only the authorities still refuse to recognize it by emphasizing speculation. What pushes the Net surfers to ask themselves “until when will this mode continue to lie and hide the misery which the people undergo?”.
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And the table oil crisis is hijacked and parodied at the level of social networks where Internet users are not lacking in imagination and creativity to denounce this untenable situation. While some Internet users prefer parody, others display their indignation and anger at this new shortage of this staple food and the measures taken by the authorities to deal with it.
And among the measures decried and parodied on social networks is that of the Minister of Commerce Kamel Rezig who decided to ban the sale of oil to Algerian miners, justifying this decision by the need to fight against speculation and purchases massive edible oil. This is a world first and sparks mockery on a global scale. As such, an Internet user wrote that if “abroad you have to show your identity card to buy alcohol, in Algeria you have to take it to buy oil”.
>>> READ ALSO: Algeria: ban on selling edible oil to minors, a world first
Under these conditions, some Internet users think that if the situation does not change quickly, it will simply be as difficult to obtain a liter of Fleurial oil as a bottle of champagne.
>>> READ ALSO: Algeria: ban on selling edible oil to minors, a world first
Angry at this measure, a user, Sid Ali Dima Dima, did not hesitate to photograph himself with his bottle of table oil, like a trophy, with the mention: “I declare, me Sid Ali Dima Dima, that I am an adult and have the right to buy edible oil ”.
Other Internet users prefer to be ironic by describing the procedure to follow to obtain edible oil. Thus, “Bliad Info” gives the user manual to find a bottle of table oil in Algeria. The conditions include, among other things, the obligation to “have an excellent relationship with the seller”, “to constantly monitor the arrival of the truck carrying edible oil 24 hours a day”, “to convince the seller that we really needs the oil ”,…
Faced with this situation of shortage, and in order to avoid the scrambles to obtain oil, the police are called to the rescue to help ration the distribution of edible oil.
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