Day: December 6, 2023

Tunisia had managed to repay 93% of its total external debt service by the end of November 2023, said Finance Minister Sihem Nemsia during a plenary session held at the Bardo Palace on Wednesday afternoon to examine the 2024 budget law.

“Despite the difficult situation of public finances and the external factors that have affected the state’s financial balance, Tunisia has managed to honour its commitments to its financial partners and donors,” she added.

In response to the MPs’ speeches, the Minister also talked about the financing needs set out in the 2024 State Budget, which amount to TND 28,188 million.

She said that TND 11,743 million of these needs will be covered by recourse to the domestic market (i.e. 42% of the debt resources) and TND 1,445 million by recourse to external debt. The resources to be raised through external debt will be divided between direct loans for project financing and TND 14,470 million in budget support.

“Self-reliance is our philosophy in the context of the 2024 State budg
et. However, Tunisia is also counting on its relations with sisterly and friendly countries to mobilise the external financing provided for in the 2024 budget. And we have begun to activate our diplomatic relations to obtain guarantees and raise the necessary funds,” the minister added.

The 2024 budget also upholds the social role of the state, according to the minister. “We have chosen to maintain subsidies and not to revise prices, despite the pressure on public finances. We have also maintained and consolidated social spending because we cannot improve the financial balance at the expense of vulnerable groups,” she pointed out.

“We have also maintained and consolidated investment spending, which has increased by 12% to TND 12,300 million, to serve as a driving force for the economy and private investment, and to contribute to wealth creation. We have also contributed to job creation efforts by planning to recruit 13,580 civil servants by 2024, despite all the constraints and pressures.”

In response to a
question about bottlenecks in the phosphate sector, the Minister stressed that “this is an important sector in terms of resources, but also in terms of national security. This sector is being closely monitored by the President of the Republic. Important measures are being taken. The situation is improving, although we have not yet returned to normal production levels”.

“After years of losses, CPG and Groupe Chimique Tunisien (GCT) made significant profits in 2022 and 2023, and the state even received dividends from the two companies. We have everything we need to return to pre-revolutionary production levels. We just need to restore the work culture,” she added.

On the subject of investment incentives, the Minister said that the approach adopted was to rationalise these incentives by directing them towards new sectors and investments with high added value (energy conversion, agriculture, technology, etc.).

Asked about the difficult situation of the Bank for the Financing of Small and Medium-Sized Enterpris
es (BFPME), the Minister said that “the restructuring plan for this bank was adopted at a ministerial working session and that important measures concerning it are planned for 2024”.

She added that “the committee dealing with this issue is still working to bring this bank out of its crisis and restore its financial equilibrium, given its important role in financing a large segment of the economy”.

The minister said the government is also focusing on the fight against the shadow economy and tax evasion. “20,110 unpaid taxpayers have been integrated into the organised circuit, generating revenues of around TND 1,253 million, and the daily work in the field by all the departments concerned continues to consolidate these efforts,” she pointed out.

Nemsia also addressed the issue of the tobacco sector, which she said was one of the priorities of the Ministry of Finance, given its contribution to public finances. “In recent months there has been a drop in production due to a number of factors (global disruptions
, blockages in public tenders, raw materials, etc.). However, the months of October and November saw a recovery and even an increase in production in this sector,” said the Minister.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

The Tunisian trade union movement is the most deeply rooted in the world and is part and parcel of the Tunisian National Movement, said President Kais Saied as he chaired Tuesday a ceremony to commemorate the 71st anniversary of Farhat Hached’s assassination.

Stances taken by the trade union movement since the 1920’s have been the most deeply rooted in the world, the President told members of the late Hached family, led by his son Nourredine Hached, Secretary-General of the Tunisian General Labour union (French : UGTT) and members of its executive bureau.

The trade union movement put forward constructive and new solutions.

To have a better understanding of the high moments of the trade union movement, Saied said, it is necessary to read again the periodicals, mainly Eshaab newspaper and manuscripts in the National Library.

The President recited the Fatiha in the memory of the late Farhat Hached . He also expressed the hope to create a museum which traces the history of the National Movement, one which, h
e said, is home to books, studies, lectures and conferences on the lives of labour and national movement leaders, mainly Mohamed Ali Hammi and Farhat Hachad.

The President said, in another connection, he hopes to have quotes by the late leader engraved as they had been engraved in history.

The ideas and principles embraced by Hached show he had been well ahead of his time as regards social development.

President Saied said a number of National Movement documents had been recovered under bilateral cooperation from the French national printing agency.

SG Nourredine Tabboubi called for recovering the labour movement archives seized back in 1978 and 1985.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

President Kais Saied stressed the need to take urgent measures to save the Tunisian Sugar Company, as he met on Wednesday at the Palace of Carthage Minister of Trade and Export Development, Kalthoum Ben Rejeb Guezzah, and CEO of that company, Mohamed Bahri Gabsi,

He also stressed the need for a programme to be drawn up as soon as possible to put an end to the fragmentation of the company, both in terms of its management and in its relations with a number of other companies, such as the Tunisian Sugar Complex and the Office of the Merchant Marine and Ports.

The Presidency said in a statement that the Head of State reviewed at this meeting “the reasons that led to this situation, in particular the intervention of a number of people now wanted by the judiciary in the takeover of a number of state companies and institutions, especially in the early 1990s, which saw this type of acts under the name of upgrading companies and institutions.

President Kais Saied noted that the so-called upgrading was aimed at ben
efiting a number of people whose names are repeated in many other companies and institutions and who are still hoping to maintain these privileges that they have received unfairly.

The President of the Republic reiterated that the State will not abandon state enterprises and institutions, but will work to reform them and eliminate all the causes that led to the current situation. It will not hesitate to call to account all those who have contributed to their bankruptcy, he added.

On the other hand, the President of the Republic stressed the need for harmony between all the parties concerned to save the Tunisian Sugar Company, because the state has a single policy and all efforts must be integrated in the same direction.

On Tuesday, President Kais Saied visited the Beja governorate and spoke with the workers of the Baja sugar company, stressing that he will work to make the company better than it was and that it is a national asset that will not be wasted.

It should be noted that the Beja Sugar Company, fo
unded in 1961, has experienced several difficulties and crises in the last decade, due to the deterioration of its equipment, its financial situation, the accumulation of debts and frequent production interruptions, and the fire that broke out in its warehouses in 2017, which led to significant losses and aggravated its financial situation.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

The Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES) on Wednesday called on the European Union to immediately stop collective repatriation operations against migrants and to respect their dignity and rights, regardless of their administrative status.

The FTDES expressed in a statement, its indignation at the repetition of the same degrading practices towards migrants, and its concern at the fate of those deported at the borders, particularly women and children, in difficult humanitarian conditions and in the absence of care and food.

It also pointed out the illegitimacy of forced repatriation, emphasising that everyone has the right to contest their return and to know the reasons for their arrest on an individual basis.

The FTDES renewed its call for a humanitarian response to the crisis created by European policies and the lack of a national migration policy that respects rights.

The press release states that the European Union continues to intervene in Tunisia in various ways to serve its interest
s and protect its borders, through various programmes that are difficult to monitor.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

It is imperative to put in place a digital database on soil characteristics so as to improve agricultural indicators and draw up maps in a more accurate way while linking them with protected agricultural land maps in different governorates, said Secretary of State in charge of water resources Ridha Gabouj.

The official was addressing a national conference on the follow-up of soil health and information systems in sustainable water and soil management held Wednesday in Sousse on the theme ” Soil and Water, Source of Life.”

He said his department started setting out key elements supporting the role and position of the soil, as part of the National Plan for the Rehabilitation and the Conservation of Agricultural Land.

He also laid emphasis on the role of the soil as a crucial element in increasing the productivity of agricultural land, thus contributing to agricultural development mainly in light of climate change and water stress.

The strategy adopted helped promote the sustainable water and soil managemen
t by means of involving all stakeholders in raising awareness about the vulnerability of resources and the need to enhance good practices so as to protect soils and improve their productivity.

Tunisia implemented Prosol, the GIZ-funded Soil Protection and Rehabilitation project (ProSOL).

The project is part of the World Programme for Soil Protection and Rehabilitation for Food Security launched within the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Special Initiative One World-No Hunger.

The programme is implemented in seven countries, including Tunisia, and is designed to carry out the national plan for sustainable soil protection and rehabilitation in the north and central western areas.

Target areas are mainly Béja, Jendouba, Siliana, El Kef, Kairouan, Kassarine and Sidi Bouzid.

The conference is organised at the initiative of the Ministry of Agriculture to mark World Soil Day (December 5).

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

The setting up of a joint Tunisian-British steering committee to implement the new English curriculum and foster bilateral relations in the education sector took centre stage at a meeting, held on Tuesday between Education Minister Mohamed Ali Boughdiri and UK Ambassador to Tunisia Helen Winterton.

The meeting, which was also attended by British Council Director Jill Coates, focused on cementing relations between the two countries, particularly in the field of teacher training for inspectors and trainers, and sharing expertise in teaching pedagogy, according to a ministry press release.

The two sides voiced willingness to broaden the scope of cooperation in order to enhance professional skills, particularly through training and the development of teaching resources in English and programmes implemented as part of bilateral cooperation.

The ambassador voiced on the occasion, satisfaction at the partnership with the Ministry of Education and the success of the programmes, commending the excellence of the Se
cond Chance School project, which provides support for school drop-outs and helps them return to their schools.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Efforts are currently being made to facilitate the mobility of businessmen from member countries of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) including Tunisia, said Wednesday, Director General of the COMESA Business Council, Teddy Soobramanien.

These efforts will make it possible to create direct air lines between member countries and speed up visa procedures, he added during a working session held at the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA), in Tunis co-chaired with its Deputy President Mohamed Kooli.

The African official, who led a market delegation in Tunisia, said that participants in the next edition of the economic forum scheduled for March 3 to 5 in Egypt, will examine ways to set up a digital platform, which would help determine market needs.

He underlined that investments are meant to meet the needs of each market, calling for focusing on key sectors, namely green economy and renewable energy.

During the session, participants discussed the possibili
ty of creating an economic digital portal in order to facilitate administrative procedures and financial operations between member countries.

They also called for increasing training sessions in the areas of business administration and meetings with companies so as to learn about investment opportunities.

UTICA Deputy President, Mohamed Kooli, stressed that the common market of Eastern and Southern Africa makes it possible for Tunisian companies to forge strategic partnerships and achieve economic growth.

Public-private partners will help strengthen the economic partnership between Tunisia and COMESA member countries, he pointed out.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Minister of Cultural Affairs Hayet Guettat Guermazi, Wednesday, told TAP that the museum of trade union leader Farhat Hached at the Kasbah is now open to the public. It will be equipped with a library focusing on the trade union movements and a film club.

According to the minister, The museum scenography will be completed at the beginning of 2024, stressing that the museum is currently hosting a digital exhibition and is planning screenings of a documentary film which retraces the most significant stages of history of the union struggle associated with the national struggle, a film inspired by the National Archives and the recordings of the Tunisian Television Establishment.

After inaugurating the museum by the Head of State, on Tuesday, on the Commemoration of the 71st Anniversary of the Assassination of Farhat Hached (December 5, 1952), an annual cultural programme will be developed which includes conferences to be given by academics and researchers specializing in the history of the Tunisian trade union
movement.

Activities will be designed for the new generation through new technologies in through workshops, competitions and virtual so as to attract students, particularly from schools located in the surrounding area.

The minister indicated that various activities on the history of the national movement will be carried out in collaboration with the Ministry of Education.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Some candidates in the delegations of Sabala, Regueb and eastern Sidi Bouzid, governorate of Sidi Bouzid, keep on communicating with locals in the runup to December 24 local elections.

Contesting candidates mainly pledged to boost employment, increase the bus feet, create irrigated areas, ensure drinking water supply and improve healthcare services.

The creation of youth clubs, upgrading primary school facilities and protection against floods also topped election platforms.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

The election campaign for candidates in the upcoming local elections in the governorate of Monastir is progressing at an upward pace, with no recorded infractions since its commencement, said head of the Independent Local Authority for Elections (IRIE) Meriem Ghariani on Wednesday.

Candidates continue to gather at the IRIE headquarters in Monastir to receive the final approval decisions for their candidacy files and to complete the procedures related to the electoral campaign, Ghariani told TAP.

The number of authorised electoral posters, as approved by the IRIE, currently stands at 35, distributed across the delegations of Jemmel, Bekalta, Monastir-City, Ksibet Medyouni, and Sayada-Lamta-Bouhjar, among others, according to the same source.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse