MEDI1TV Afrique : LE GRAND JOURNAL MIDI - 02/01/2025
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00:00News of the day
00:17Ladies and gentlemen, good morning and welcome to Medea TV.
00:20It's a pleasure to have you here to talk about the news.
00:23Here are today's headlines.
00:26Tax amnesty in Morocco.
00:28The first figures published by 360.mar
00:31show a regrettable success of more than 100 billion dirhams
00:35declared in all categories.
00:40Mali denounces the persistence of Algeria's acts of interference in its northern part
00:45faced with a Tuareg rebellion.
00:47Bamako accuses Algeria of supporting terrorist groups in a statement.
00:52Human figures in the Gaza Strip continue to rise daily.
00:58Less than 28 people have been killed in an Israeli air strike
01:01in the last 24 hours.
01:03We'll talk about that in a moment.
01:09Tangier Med wins two places for this ICO,
01:12third in the ranking of the world performance index
01:15of container ports, according to the annual report of 2024
01:18by Douglas Knusset on maritime transport.
01:20And according to this index established by the World Bank
01:23and S&P Global Market Intelligence,
01:25Tangier Med is by far the best port in all categories
01:29in all of Africa and the Mediterranean
01:32with a score of 159 points.
01:34It is further away from the Spanish port of Al-Khaziras
01:36and the port of Said in Egypt.
01:38The world ranking is dominated by Wangshan in China,
01:40followed by the port of Salalah in the Sultanate of Oman,
01:42Tangzhong Palipas in Malaysia
01:44and Xi'an, respectively, in fourth and fifth place.
01:51In Morocco, the first figures of the fiscal amnesty
01:54exceed 100 billion dirhams,
01:56all categories combined, of 360 points.
01:58In this volume, 60 billion dirhams in the form of cash
02:02have been deposited with the banking sector.
02:05The rest, or nearly 40 billion dirhams,
02:07correspond, among other things, to real estate acquisitions
02:10and the current accounts of associates.
02:12By retaining the liberal contribution of 5%
02:15taken on these amounts,
02:18the operation should drain about 5 billion dirhams
02:20of tax revenue, which will consequently appear
02:22in the state's general budget for 2025.
02:30For Wadi Al-Mouden, author of this article,
02:32there are no words to describe the success of this fiscal amnesty.
02:34I suggest you listen to the publishing director of 360.ma.
02:39Yes, I would even say that it is more than a success.
02:42Besides, I can't find the words to describe
02:45the success of this operation.
02:48I would say two things.
02:50First, from the point of view of the mobilization,
02:52of the enthusiasm that this operation
02:54has aroused among the population.
02:56We have seen the mobilization of Moroccans
02:58on social networks around this amnesty operation.
03:02We have also seen the mobilization of the banking sector.
03:05You know, some banking agencies,
03:07yesterday, that is, on December 31st,
03:09were no longer able to collect funds
03:13because they were so submerged in cash.
03:16And so they were not able to bear
03:19this record influx around this operation.
03:22And then there are the figures.
03:24The figures speak for themselves.
03:26100 billion dirhams.
03:27You reminded us.
03:28We published two articles today.
03:30In the morning, we even made a report
03:32of 50 billion dirhams on the basis
03:35of the last account,
03:37stopped the day before on December 31st.
03:39That is, yesterday, Tuesday, December 31st
03:42at 4.30 p.m.
03:43And today, it was our surprise
03:45to see that this figure doubled in one day
03:49to go from 50 to 100 billion dirhams.
03:53And who says 100 billion dirhams,
03:55it's about 25% of the cash in circulation in Morocco,
03:59which is estimated at about 425 billion dirhams.
04:03The amount of 100 billion dirhams
04:05is 20 times more important than the one
04:07drained during the 2020 amnesty.
04:09How to explain such a mobilization?
04:11Let's listen to Wadia Elmoden.
04:13So, just by comparing
04:15compared to the 2020 amnesty operation,
04:18I would say that there is no place to compare
04:20between the two operations.
04:22First, because 2020 was a year
04:24marked by the COVID pandemic.
04:27But to return to the success of this operation,
04:30that of 2024,
04:31several factors agree to explain
04:33what happened during this operation.
04:35I would say that this is an operation
04:37that has been well studied and well thought out.
04:40Let me explain.
04:41The Tax Administration,
04:43the General Tax Administration,
04:45before launching this operation,
04:47launched a vast control operation
04:50with the large fortunes of the country.
04:52When I speak of the large fortunes of the country,
04:54I specify the large undeclared fortunes
04:57with the Tax Administration.
05:01So people understood that the Tax Administration
05:04is well equipped to identify
05:06all undeclared assets.
05:09I would add to this the rumors
05:11that speculated on a resumption
05:13of the amnesty operation.
05:15But there was the exit of the Minister in charge
05:17of the budget already in Parliament
05:19and who said that the operation
05:21will not be resumed.
05:22But people had to wait for the publication
05:24of the official bulletin,
05:26of the 2025 Finance Law,
05:28on the official bulletin,
05:29to finally understand that the operation
05:31will not be resumed.
05:33And that's where people,
05:35concerned people,
05:37targeted by this operation,
05:39the large fortunes,
05:40understood that it was time
05:42to play the game
05:44and that it would be better
05:46to declare and pay 5%
05:48instead of paying the 37%
05:50once the 31st of December has passed.
05:54Mali denounced this Wednesday
05:56the persistence of the acts of interference
05:58of Algeria,
05:59former mediator country for peace,
06:01in the north.
06:02The northern part of Mali
06:04is facing a Tuareg rebellion,
06:06and Morocco accuses Algeria
06:08of supporting the armed groups
06:10in a statement.
06:12The Minister of Foreign Affairs
06:14of having learned by press
06:16the words of the head of Algerian diplomacy,
06:18Ahmed Attaf,
06:19commenting on the new Malian strategy
06:21of fighting terrorism.
06:23He condemns with the last vigour
06:25this new interference of Algeria
06:27in the internal affairs of Mali
06:29and invites Algeria to stop making Mali
06:31a lever of its international positioning.
06:37The tone rises between Algeria and Mali.
06:39How can we explain what is happening
06:41between the two neighbouring countries?
06:43We listen to the correspondence
06:45of Mohamed Dagnoko.
06:46First of all, we have to recognize
06:48that in December 2023,
06:50when Bamako had already accused Algeria
06:52because Algeria had convened a meeting
06:54at the time, the peace agreement
06:56was still in force.
06:58Algeria had convened a meeting
07:00with the armed groups
07:02without associating Bamako.
07:05In return for the reciprocity,
07:07Algeria had done the same thing,
07:09except that in the meantime
07:11the ambassadors had resumed service.
07:13But since then, things have not gone
07:15in the same direction,
07:17since we remember that the current
07:19Prime Minister, Abdoulaye Maïga,
07:21when he was Minister of the Territorial
07:23Administration, had spoken out
07:25in front of the United Nations,
07:27always calling Algeria
07:29in complicity with the terrorists
07:31and offering the cover to these terrorists.
07:33So, since December 2023 until now,
07:35relations have been tense.
07:37But it should also be noted that
07:39this is all part of the fact that
07:41Mali also ended the peace agreement
07:43signed in 2015 between the authorities
07:45and the terrorist group,
07:47an agreement that put Algeria
07:49at the heart of the negotiations.
07:51And with the end of this agreement,
07:53Algeria no longer has influence,
07:55Algeria no longer has power.
07:57It must be believed that this
07:59separation is not appreciated
08:01by the Malian authorities in their
08:03fight against terrorism.
08:05And today, we see that for a few years
08:07this fight is bearing fruit,
08:09notably with the recovery of Kidal
08:11and many other terrorist bases.
08:13And when Algeria doubts
08:15this Malian practice,
08:17this Malian strategy,
08:19it must be believed that today
08:21Algeria is visibly preaching
08:23in favor of terrorist groups
08:25that are emerging from Morocco
08:27to the highest point of its own.
08:29The exploitation of their common gas
08:31with the opening of the first well
08:33of their marine deposit, the Grand Tortue project
08:35in Memim, an important step
08:37before the commercialization
08:39planned this year. This well should
08:41produce about 2.5 million tons
08:43of liquefied natural gas per year.
08:49An old American soldier
08:51hastened his car on a crowd
08:53celebrating New Year's Eve
08:55this Wednesday in the French tourist district
08:57of Saint-Germain.
08:59At least 15 dead and about 30 injured,
09:01aged 42 years old. The suspect
09:03was identified as Shamsuddin Jabal,
09:05an American rescuer from Texas
09:07and a former soldier of the army
09:09after having killed and injured
09:11dozens of passers-by. The man was shot
09:13in a gunfight with the police.
09:17A Tesla Cybertruck,
09:19the pick-up of the Elon Musk brand,
09:21exploded this Wednesday
09:23in front of the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas.
09:25Authorities are trying to find out
09:27if there is a link with the attack
09:29of the New Orleans.
09:31Elon Musk said
09:33that the explosion was caused
09:35by large fireworks
09:37and a bomb transported
09:39to the back of the vehicle
09:41which is not linked to the vehicle itself.
09:49At least 28 people were killed
09:51in an Israeli air strike.
09:5316 people were injured
09:55after the bombing of a British tent.
09:57People were moving in the area of Al-Mawassi
09:59to the west of the city of Khan Younes.
10:01Among the people killed
10:03is the chief of the police, Mahmoud Salah
10:05and his aide, Hossam Chausen.
10:07On Wednesday, the Israeli defense minister
10:09threatened to intensify
10:11his strikes on Gaza if Hamas
10:13continues to fire rockets.
10:15The resumption of rocket fire from Gaza
10:17on Israeli territory in recent days
10:19has caused very little damage.
10:21More than 45,500 Palestinians
10:23have been killed
10:25in Israeli bombings
10:27and more than 108,000 Palestinians
10:29would be injured.
10:33And despite the hopes
10:35of a ceasefire, Israel continues
10:37its murderous attacks on Gaza.
10:39Would Hamas accept
10:41negotiations on hostages
10:43even without a permanent ceasefire?
10:45We listen to the answer
10:47of Ahmed Chihab,
10:50Hamas has accepted,
10:52it has made concessions.
10:54It is Netanyahu who
10:56changes his mind
10:58and adds conditions.
11:00Even the head
11:02of the Israeli opposition
11:04accuses the Israeli government
11:06of not having
11:08an agreement.
11:10Several times
11:12there have been agreements
11:14and it is the American administration
11:16that always gives guarantees
11:18to Israel
11:20that it does not want
11:22a continuous exchange.
11:24We are not trying to accuse
11:26the victims who are being massacred
11:28every day,
11:30to accuse them of refusing
11:32to make the exchange.
11:34These daily massacres
11:36have no military
11:38justification
11:40or logic.
11:42The destruction
11:44of the hostages
11:46makes no sense.
11:48These are war crimes,
11:50crimes against humanity.
11:52This bullshit
11:54that the Israeli occupation
11:56continues
11:58has nothing to do
12:00with having a ceasefire
12:02or an agreement of peace.
12:04There is no agreement of peace.
12:06There is a people that has been massacred
12:08for 76 years.
12:10The international committee
12:12of the Arab world
12:14has to deal with
12:16these war crimes
12:18without doing anything
12:20to sanction
12:22the crimes
12:24of the occupation.
12:26This is the most important
12:28thing in this matter.
12:30The Palestinian Authority
12:32suspended the broadcast of Al Jazeera
12:34according to the official press agency
12:36WAFA, the competent ministerial committee
12:38composed of the ministries of culture,
12:40interior and communications
12:42and to freeze all activities
12:44of the Al Jazeera channel
12:46and its office in Palestine
12:48and to suspend the work
12:50of all journalists
12:52until its legal status is rectified.
12:54The Qatari channel denounced
12:56that this suspension
12:58intervened at a time
13:00when the Palestinian Authority
13:02tried to dissuade Al Jazeera
13:04from covering the aggravation
13:06of the events
13:08in the occupied Palestinian territories
13:11As soon as he arrived in Riyadh,
13:13the new Syrian foreign minister
13:15Assad Al Shibani
13:17declared that he hoped to open
13:19a new and bright page
13:21with Saudi Arabia.
13:23The state and Syrian media
13:25indicated that this trip
13:27had taken place at the invitation
13:29of the Saudi foreign minister.
13:31Last month, a Saudi delegation
13:33had met in Damascus
13:35the new leader.
13:37And last week, in an interview
13:39he said that this visit will certainly
13:41play an important role in the future
13:43of Syria, evoking a great opportunity
13:45of investment for all neighboring countries.
13:51In South Korea,
13:53the president of the EU
13:55resists his arrest.
13:57Yong Su-yol promised to fight
13:59until the end against the authorities
14:01who seek to question him
14:03on his failed attempt
14:05to impose martial law.
14:07Yong Su-yol
14:09asked for this term of office
14:11after President Daechu
14:13ignored three consecutive summons.
14:15He attempted to impose martial law
14:17by sending the army to the parliament
14:19to try to mutilate the parliamentarians.
14:21President Daechu was dismissed
14:23by the parliament on December 14
14:25and is the subject of an investigation
14:27for rebellion, a peaceful crime
14:29of capital punishment.
14:33And it's time to invite
14:35the Mali accuses
14:37Algeria of interference and support
14:39to terrorism.
14:41We are live from Kinshasa
14:43with Henri Nzouzi, political analyst.
14:45Hello.
14:47Yes, hello to welcome me.
14:49Thank you for answering our questions.
14:51We will start with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
14:53who denounced the words of the head
14:55of Algerian diplomacy, Ahmad Attaf,
14:57who criticizes the Malian strategy
14:59of fighting terrorism.
15:01How to interpret these accusations
15:03Indeed, they are not new
15:05but we have to go back to 2020
15:07to see that since the
15:09takeover of power
15:11of the Malian junta, relations
15:13have begun to deteriorate
15:15progressively,
15:17notably with this
15:19culminating point,
15:21this reproach that was made
15:23to Algeria when
15:25the Algerian authorities
15:27received
15:29Mr Mahmoud Diko,
15:31who is in fact the imam
15:33who is openly opposed to the junta,
15:35which was perceived as an unfriendly gesture
15:37by Bamako
15:39towards Algeria.
15:41That being said,
15:43the Algerian agreements
15:45have been revoked
15:47since January 2024
15:49by Bamako.
15:51It was a base of work on which
15:53Algeria counted enormously since in the
15:55conflict resolution strategy
15:57there was this
15:59will of Algeria to be able
16:01to favor negotiation
16:03while since now,
16:05it must be said, several months,
16:07or even a few years now,
16:09Bamako's option is rather
16:11to be able to militarily fight
16:13the different terrorist groups.
16:15Malian accusations
16:17have already been made
16:19on January 25
16:21announcing the end, with immediate effect,
16:23of the peace agreement
16:25signed in 2015.
16:27Why do you think that Algeria's actions
16:29contradict the spirit and the modalities
16:31of this agreement?
16:33I think that on the one hand
16:35there is the degradation of the security climate
16:37especially in the north of Mali
16:39which has worried
16:41in a certain way the Algerian authorities
16:43probably pushing them to take
16:45initiatives that may have
16:47turned out to be unfortunate.
16:49I mentioned earlier the fact that
16:51Algeria has
16:53quite recurrently received
16:55signatures
16:57of the Algerian agreement
16:59especially in the north of Mali.
17:01This has not always been done
17:03in agreement with
17:05Bamako's authorities.
17:07It is for this good reason
17:09that Mali
17:11has the right to denounce
17:13these repeated interference
17:15from Algeria.
17:17But there is another event that took place
17:19at the end of July 2024
17:21everyone remembers it, it is the defeat
17:23of the Malian army
17:25led by the CSP
17:27or the Wagner troops
17:29and the Malian army
17:31and they made a lot of victims
17:33it happened in Tindawen
17:3560 km from the Algerian border
17:37which revived
17:39tensions and incited
17:41Mali to plan
17:43a revenge
17:45in this city
17:47which was firmly dissuaded
17:49by Algeria
17:51and did not do anything to fix things.
17:53So,
17:55we will get a little more into the heart of the matter
17:57with the persistence of these acts
17:59of interference from Algeria
18:01that Bamako accuses
18:03of supporting in parallel
18:05terrorist groups. We are talking about
18:07the proximity of these two parties.
18:09Why, in your opinion, would Algeria
18:11seek to destabilize Mali?
18:13So,
18:15it is a rather difficult question
18:17to answer
18:19for two reasons. The first is that
18:21Algeria wants to avoid
18:23an overflow
18:25beyond its borders. I still remind you that
18:27there are about 50,000
18:29Malian refugees
18:31on both sides
18:33of the border
18:35of the two countries. This is the first thing.
18:37The second thing, of course, is that Algeria
18:39does not want the problem
18:41to be exported
18:43to its territory
18:45Algeria being
18:47confronted from time to time
18:49with this type of situation.
18:51But beyond that, there is above all the pivotal role
18:53that Algeria has always wanted to play,
18:55especially in the Sahel,
18:57for the settlement of this issue,
18:59positioning itself as the regional power.
19:01We can see today
19:03that this role
19:05is contested by other actors
19:07and so, Algeria
19:09pushes the four irons to either
19:11try to regain the advantage
19:13or at least to have an eye
19:15for possible future negotiations
19:17since, as we know now, since January
19:192024,
19:21the Malian authorities have revoked
19:23this Algerian agreement.
19:25So, to come back to
19:27Bamako, who recalls that
19:29the strategic options for the fight
19:31against terrorist armed groups
19:33are exclusively the sovereignty of
19:35Mali and its neighbors, namely
19:37Burkina and Niger, with whom
19:39Mali created a confederation after
19:41having seceded from the CEDEAO.
19:43How do you explain this new divergence
19:45on the way to manage the conflicts in the Sahel?
19:47So, we have to remember
19:49that, historically speaking,
19:51Algeria has always been a strategic
19:53partner of Mali.
19:55Unfortunately, this is no longer the case
19:57since, indeed,
19:59these repeated incidents.
20:01But we can see very well that,
20:03through the confederation of the states of the Sahel,
20:05through the EUS,
20:07there is a will to
20:09recover, in a certain way,
20:11this problem.
20:13It is important to underline
20:15that, since
20:17the involvement of
20:19Wagner,
20:21who is now called Afrika Korps,
20:23in Mali, there is
20:25indeed a will
20:27of Bamako to be able
20:29to solve this problem directly.
20:31But it is also forgotten
20:33that Russia
20:35is also an ally of Algeria.
20:37And I think there will be,
20:39in a sense, an absolute need
20:41to clarify the positions
20:43and roles of each other,
20:45so that, on the one hand, there is
20:47no Algerian side, the fear of a
20:49overflow beyond its
20:51territorial limits, and that, on the other hand,
20:53Mali can have the certainty
20:55and the guarantee that Algeria
20:57does not play an ambiguous game
20:59by trying to take advantage
21:01of this situation.
21:03So, on the Algerian side, what could be the consequences
21:05or rather of the two parties, what could be the consequences
21:07of these accusations on
21:09regional security cooperation?
21:11Well, as long as there is
21:13no degradation of the security
21:15system, as long as there is no, for example,
21:17military operations carried out by the Malian army
21:19with the Afrika Korps contest
21:21at the territorial limits of Algeria,
21:23there will be no problem. Because I still remember
21:25that there was
21:27a Sukhoi-30 from the Algerian Air Force
21:29which, in August, had
21:31taken off from the base of Saman Rasset,
21:33because there had been a detection
21:35of a threat to the border with Mali.
21:37So, there is still
21:39an example of noticeable tension
21:41and which, in my opinion,
21:43could be exacerbated if,
21:45there should be
21:47a theatricalization of operations
21:49at the territorial limits of Algeria,
21:51which could unfortunately force
21:53Algeria to take other measures.
21:55But for the moment, I think
21:57that both parties
21:59should be able to favor
22:01the voice of dialogue to avoid
22:03any confusion. But I fear, unfortunately,
22:05that this option is not on the table
22:07immediately, given the state of mind
22:09that the two parties are currently in.
22:11And if we have to come back
22:13a little more on the armed groups
22:15that Mali accuses of Algeria
22:17to support, are there groups or
22:19specific factions that
22:21Bamako accuses or denounces?
22:25Well, you know, in this
22:27nebula, there is indeed
22:29the Salafist group
22:31for the prediction of
22:33combat, the GSTC,
22:35which had allegedly
22:37Al-Qaida,
22:39you have the Superior Council
22:41Strategic, sorry,
22:43Permanent. These are groups with
22:45which Algeria
22:47does not have a documented
22:49relationship, but in
22:51its concern, in its quest to find
22:53a solution to the activism of these groups
22:55in the north of Mali,
22:57there is sometimes a desire to
22:59speak with these groups, which is not at all
23:01Bamako's taste, who
23:03wants to be informed of
23:05any initiative, knowing
23:07elsewhere that since now,
23:09we have replied several times, since
23:11a few moments, the Algerian agreement has been
23:13revoked. It was a basis of discussion
23:15on which most of the
23:17protagonists had agreed since
23:192015. Today, we will have to find
23:21something else to appease the tensions.
23:23So, since Mali and
23:25several countries have withdrawn
23:27from the GSTC, do regional
23:29organizations like the African Union
23:31or the GSTC still have
23:33or react to these
23:35exactions? Do they still have a word
23:37to say about the situation?
23:39It is
23:41very difficult given that
23:43these organizations have
23:45demonstrated their
23:47inability to solve
23:49this problem,
23:51and on the other hand, you have
23:53a superposition,
23:55I would say, of events,
23:57notably the fact that there is
23:59an extreme distrust
24:01of the public opinion of these three countries,
24:03notably Niger, Mali
24:05and Burkina, towards
24:07the GSTC, and with,
24:09obviously, this suspicion of
24:11instrumentalization by Western powers.
24:13It is a bit in the air of the time.
24:15Today, their distrust
24:17has been seen, with the withdrawal
24:19of these three countries, even though
24:21the GSTC gave six months
24:23hoping that these
24:25three countries would come back to their
24:27decisions, which, unfortunately,
24:29is unlikely to happen. I also note that
24:31since the withdrawal
24:33of these three countries, we have also
24:35observed persistent tensions, but this time
24:37at the bilateral level, between certain
24:39member countries of the GSTC, we think
24:41notably of Benin,
24:43vis-à-vis
24:45Mali,
24:47but also vis-à-vis Niger, with which
24:49relations are not at odds.
24:51All this gives us a rather
24:53complicated situation that does not
24:55arrange things. It is far too early
24:57to say what this will lead to.
24:59What we know, simply, is that
25:01at the moment, this
25:03alliance of the States of the Sahel is
25:05organized to be able, I would say,
25:07to preside over its own destinies.
25:11We can perhaps talk about a destiny, but also a resolution.
25:13What could be the
25:15tracks for a decoupling
25:17between the two countries?
25:21Well, listen, one of the tracks would be
25:23first,
25:25well, to initiate, or at least to encourage
25:27any meeting,
25:29perhaps first at the level of the
25:31foreign affairs ministers, to try
25:33to appease tensions, because
25:35no one is interested in what relations are at odds
25:37between, in particular, Algeria and
25:39Mali.
25:41What is also important to take into account
25:43is the weight,
25:45both political,
25:47geopolitical and strategic, of
25:49Algeria, which, despite the
25:51criticisms that are formulated, still remains
25:53a heavyweight. And so, I think
25:55that, on a personal level, it would be,
25:57it seems to me, much more
25:59productive for all parties
26:01to be able to recreate the threads
26:03of dialogue in order to
26:05move towards solutions that could
26:07be acceptable by all parties.
26:09Well, thank you, Henri Nzouzi, for all
26:11these clarifications. I remind you that you are
26:13a political analyst.
26:15Thank you for welcoming me.
26:17This is the end of this newscast.
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