With the rainfall this morning, I reflected on the water crisis experienced by most Arab countries. We still do not know how to preserve rainwater or how to exploit it properly in a way that benefits humans and other living beings.
Yesterday, I read an article in an African magazine about the performance of the Algerian economy, and how the inflation rate has fallen to 1.7 percent—an indicator the magazine described as positive—despite the fact that commodity prices remain high, and that a household’s purchasing power now requires the work of three individuals: the husband, the wife, and one of the children.
The magazine also pointed out that we have begun to move away from dependence on oil and gas revenues. I received this news with caution, for we still have a long road ahead before fully relying on a knowledge-based economy, as the share of the knowledge economy in the gross domestic product remains weak.
We are in need of a change in mindsets, the entrenchment of the concept of serious and well-executed work, the encouragement of minds and innovation, and the establishment of the value of the human being in his or her work. For decades, Algerians have grown accustomed to free state services, without yet realizing that “free” comes at a cost, and that its validity ends when oil and gas wells run dry. At that point, there will be no refuge except oneself—one’s competence and professional performance.
