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September 28, 2007
Lesson One: Attracting Major Industrial Investment by Private Sector
... is not best done by making it damn near impossible to convert currency, making life unpleasant for expat managers, and generally having a shrill and paranoid relationship with the private sector.
This is my general response to over a week of hearing various Algerian Pouvoir whankers whinge on endlessly about how Perifidious Maghreb stole the super duper Renault-Nissan 400k Logan production plant from Algeria and the French backstabbed them by going back on vague hand-wavey promises of investment.
I mean, I am hardly falling over myself with enthusiasm to be in Algiers myself. What with the Neanderthalic attitudes of the Ministry people "promoting" investment, the small indignities such as never being able to fucking convert the useless motherfucking dinars one has to obtain because while MoF officials fellate themselves over their new payment backbone, there are in fact no real useful fucking payment facilities. Why I am ecstatic that I have to pay in cash the goddamned car rental agency which is nervous - yes nervous - about recieving international wires.
I shall note try to go on about how perhaps the Generals et al have perhaps spoiled the party by fucking around with contracts too much, nor the absurd charade of your privatization efforts.
(Of course it is not your fault that the cretin I am traveling with keeps asking me to take him to see belly dancers. During Ramdan, he wants to see belly dancers. Seems to think I am making up my scorn for pure spite.)
Posted by The Lounsbury at September 28, 2007 09:07 PM
Filed Under:
Biz - Private in MENA
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Comments
at least he's not demanding to drink booze in public during daylight hours, is he?
Posted by: drdougfir ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://lounsbury.aqoul.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at September 29, 2007 12:31 AM
Speaking of Ramadan, seen this? Can't think of a better symbol for how Abbas's regime appears to have gone into tailspin, a total moral implosion for what was left of the PLO inheritance. His slim luck is that Hamas isn't doing much better, and that the US & Israel are helping to keep him afloat by dangling the Peace Process To End All Peace Processes in front of him. But, come that day, I'm sure they're going to publicly humiliate him with some crap deal, and from then on, it'll just be straight downhill.
Ach. I'm increasingly doubtful that there will be any chance for a future US president to salvage the Palestinian issue (and Israel) from Chechenization, even if he/she wanted to -- or, more properly, understood the need to. It was probably too late years ago, given the pace of settlements and Palestinian disintegration, but now I just don't see any reasonable chance of turning the ship around.
Posted by: alle at September 29, 2007 06:38 AM
The answer to the question is yes. The sooner I am freed of this cretin the better.
Posted by: The Lounsbury at September 30, 2007 12:27 AM
my advice to you: get him drunk on fermented date palm sap and dump him somewhere.
Posted by: drdougfir at September 30, 2007 03:09 AM
