Hommam Al Nassim 
The Algerian judiciary revealed new details about the corruption that has affected the maritime transport sector in the country, in which dozens are accused, including former directors of the National Maritime Transport Company - North.
Algeria News ,Algeria ,Corruption ,Algerian Judiciary ,Algerian Maritime Transport Sector ,Fighting Corruption ,The Pole Court
The Algerian judiciary revealed new details about the corruption that has affected the maritime transport sector in the country, in which dozens are accused, including former directors of the National Maritime Transport Company – North.
The judge in charge of the file in the Pole Court interrogated the defendants, who are the former President and General Manager of the National Maritime Cargo Transport Company – North “G. L., and the former general directors A.S.W. and G.S.A., in addition to 32 other defendants who were placed under judicial supervision.
The former General Director of the National Maritime Transport Company – North GSA revealed a huge scandal, according to the Algerian newspaper Al-Shorouk.
He reported that ships belonging to the “Kenan” company for transporting goods stop in Algerian ports at a rate of wasting 900 to 1,000 trips per year without sailing, due to the inefficiency of the marine crews and the lack of the number of employees, in addition to the technical and technical problems of the ships, and the impoundment of some ships in foreign ports.
The newspaper indicated that the judge interrogated the former President and Director General, G.S.A., and charged him with corruption and exploitation of his position.
The Algerian newspaper reported that the accused admitted that the company was in a catastrophic situation when he assumed the position of general manager and prepared a “special plan” to save it from bankruptcy and final closure. The accused denied the charges against him, explaining that he found the company in a very critical situation when he was appointed by the Ministry of Transport.
The accused revealed in his testimony that when the company studied the 2017 budget, it was under the clause stipulated in Article 715 of the Commercial Code, which requires the company to declare bankruptcy or permanently close if its capital is less than one billion dinars.
The rescue plan was prepared in November 2017 and identified seven or eight major shortcomings related to the shortage of labor, the efficiency of the marine crew, and the absence of a specific market for the company.
The accused explained that the ships had been purchased before he took office, and he had nothing to do with the purchase.
He pointed out that the company reached rock bottom in September 2018, as wages were not paid for two or three months, and the ships stopped working, stressing that the rescue plan he initiated contributed to partially overcoming the crisis and improving the financial situation.
The accused stated that the company gradually returned to activity and was able to pay wages within six months of the start of the rescue plan.
The company asked the Ministry of Transport to submit proposals for training officers and sailors, but these requests were not responded to.
The company also tried to obtain help from other companies to provide it with a marine crew, but the process failed due to the lack of cooperation from the Ministry of Transport.
The technical director of the Northern Merchandise Shipping Company denied the charges brought against him by the court, and the company’s exploitation director tried to drop the charge of “clear negligence leading to the loss of public funds” during his interrogation.
The company’s ship personnel supply manager explained that his mission is limited to receiving the list of personnel and sending it to the Human Resources Department.
Regarding non-payment of wages, he pointed out that the experience report of the General Inspectorate of Finance did not address this matter, noting that the labor shortage is a problem that the company has been suffering from since 2018, which prompted it to employ foreign workers under Algerian law.
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