• Last August, Algeria shifts to Friday and Saturday weekends, from the Thursday and Friday weekends
• The other weekend break was denying the country up to $1 billion each year

It is six months after the new weekend schedules were effected in Algiers but looks like the city is now happier and conducting more business, especially on the international front.

Last August, Algeria shifted to Friday and Saturday weekends, from the Thursday and Friday weekends decreed by president Houari Boumediene in 1976 as an assertion of the country’ Arab and Islamic identity.

After a lot of pressure from traders, president Abdelaziz Bouteflika went ahead and changed the schedule, a decision that has seen more trade deals. The presidential decision was seen as a compromise to facilitate international trade to reduce over reliance on oil exports, something that the Algiers government has been pushing to tilt the current fortunes. But Friday as prayer day, remains the official off day for all. 

Before the shift, traders routinely complained of heavy losses for working only three days a week because. With up to 60 per cent of Algeria trade being transacted with Europe, USA and China, the odd weekend break was denying the country up to around $1 billion each year.

"It was imperative to align our weekend with the rest of world," argued economist Abderrahmane Mebtoul from Oran University, west of Algeria. "The country could not afford to continue losing money and remain economically isolated from world trade and business".     

Sigh of relief

For citizens- up to 99 per cent of whom are Muslims- the new weekends offer them an easy chance to go out without the strains of Friday prayer hours.

On Saturdays, public facilities remain open to the public.

The fact that the customs service didn't work on Thursday and Friday and the banks Saturday, meant there were three days of losses and stoppages in the various operations of trade transactions. Foreign crew members of ships docking in Algerian ports took their weekly break on Saturday and Sunday.

It was absurd to continue to trade with foreign partners only three days a week.

Naziha, who works as secretary in a public owned enterprise, was delighted to learn about the new week end system. "we are able to spend the week end together, my kids are not in schools, my husband who works in an banking company, adopted already Friday and Saturday week end, so we can organise family outings and visit relatives and friends," she says . "With the new system", observes Ahmed , " I go to mosque on Fridays for prayer and then go out with friends for funs on Saturday. the rest of the day, I play football and the rest, I dedicate to readings, surfing on Internet and working on my courses". he is a student at Algiers University

‘Well, remarks Amine; an entrepreneur who invested in international trade, with new week end, the waiting list is cut by half,’you don’t waste your time and wait four long days to get your business documents approved and you goods delivered’. Also ‘your partner abroad is quite satisfied with the speed that new system has generated as far as business is concerned’. ‘As long as friday is the official day off, I don’t mind working other days, though reminds Ouassim member of a religious association, the Quran encourages Muslims to work after they finish Friday prayer’. 

Observing the week end system in the Arab world, Algeria is the 13th Arab countries which adopted Friday and Saturday days off,  only Saudia Arabia remains fixed to Thursday and Friday week end,  whereas in Maghreb region, Morocco and Tunisia have week end on saturday and Sunday, aligned with European countries.

‘The week end system, states sociologist Ahmed Benamar   is a sensitive issue in the Arab world’. ‘It is highly based on the combination of  religious pratices, political tendencies and economic constraints’, he concludes.