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Residents moved as improvised homes are demolished

(24 May 2016) LEAD IN: Authorities in Algiers, the capital of Algeria, are pushing forward with a programme to clear out improvised housing. The governor of the city has said he wants to get rid of the remaining shanty towns, or 'bidonvilles' as they are known in French, by the end of the year. But some residents have nowhere to go. STORY-LINE: The residents of this 'bidonville' called Bousmaha, in the Bouzareah neighbourhood of the capital, are preparing to leave their homes for good. 69-year-old father of four Slimane Belkhir is one of those packing up before the bulldozers arrive. An employee of the state oil company, he has lived here in Bousmaha for nearly 30 years, squatting the land, at the bottom rung of society. He is happy to go and is looking forward to a new life in a new apartment block provided by the city. "The land here belongs to the state and we have never paid a penny, not for electricity, nor water. Today, the time has come to go somewhere even better," he says. As the residents move out, the diggers destroy the homes to ensure that others don't move in and squat on the vacated land. Around 1,500 families are being moved out of Bousmaha, but not everyone is so happy with the idea. Abdelghani Makoudi says the government hasn't offered him alternative accommodation, so he's not leaving. "Me, I'm not leaving my house. If they want to demolish it on top of me, that's fine, they can go ahead," he says. "I was married in 2010, but under the pretext that I have no children, the mayor hasn't taken account of me. It's not my fault if I haven't got kids. What are they saying? If someone doesn't have kids then they don't have a right to a home?" Arriving at his new home, an apartment in a block in the suburb of Draria, around 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) south of his old home, Belkhir is excited. He smiles broadly as he receives the keys to his family's new apartment. "Today I'm just so happy. It's like being born again," Belkhir says. The governor of the capital, Abdelkader Zoukh is proud of the plan to get rid of the impoverished neighbourhoods. He wants Algiers to be the first African capital completely clear of shanty towns. While he accepts some are unhappy with the moves, he says the process is transparent. "We are all aware that some people are happy and others are complaining." "We will not make the same mistake again of handing out (new) lodgings without really knowing who we are giving them to. We are working hard to know who is who and to only give the lodgings to those who deserve them." The governor says about 46,000 homes will have been provided by the city between June 2014 and June 2016. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...