Day: December 6, 2023

Reducing traffic congestion and solving the problems of working-class neighbourhoods are the priorities of candidates in the upcoming local elections in the Baraket Sahel district of the Hammamet delegation, Nabeul governorate.

Candidate Abdessattar Nefzaoui told TAP that he is committed to solving the transport problems in Baraket Sahel by creating a pilot transport station that includes all modes of transport.

He also plans to reopen access to the city of Hammamet via the motorway (GarsaS interchange), citing the enthusiastic support of the local population.

Candidate Said Tebourbi, on the other hand, stressed that his electoral programme is based on prioritising interventions in “marginalised neighbourhoods” (Kharroub, Sidi Hammed, Ezzitoun, etc.), which lack essential elements for a decent quality of life, including sanitation, roads and service infrastructure.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Wajdi Ferchichi, candidate in the local elections for the Marsa Riadh constituency (Marsa delegation, Tunis 2), launched his campaign on Wednesday with the organisation of a political café attended by young people and citizens from the area.

In a statement to TAP, Ferchichi said that during his campaign he would opt for direct communication with voters, especially those in Jebal Khaoui and Marsa Riadh.

According to Ferchichi, his decision to run is based solely on his desire to serve the area and its residents, and to implement a new participatory approach to governance.

Among his priorities are urgent solutions to the state of public transport, which is isolating the area, the upgrading of roads and the opening of a youth centre.

The candidate believes that training courses should be organised for local young people to encourage them to launch their own projects.

The La Marsa delegation has a population of 1,088,686 and a surface area of 30.92 km2, or 10.73 km2 of the surface area of the Tunis governor
ate.

It comprises 10 delegations: Marsa Plage, Marsa Ville, Les Jardins de la Marsa, Marsa Riadh, Remila, Marsa Montazah, Gammarth, Gammarth Supérieur, Sidi Daoued and Bhar Lazreg.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Temperatures on Wednesday night will be between 12 and 15°C in coastal areas and between 8 and 11°C in the rest of the regions, according to forecasts by the National Meteorological Institute (INM).

The sky will be cloudy in the north and midland and slightly cloudy in the south. The wind will blow from the north, relatively strong near the coast and light to moderate inland.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Some 1,500 people were illegally recruited in a single public company which employs between 7,000 and 8,000 people,” Head of State Kais Saïed pointed out on Tuesday.

Speaking on the fringes of the ceremony commemorating the 71th anniversary of the assassination of trade union leader Farhat Hached, in the presence of Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT) Secretary-General Noureddine Taboubi and Minister of Cultural Affairs Hayet Guettat Guermazi, the President of the Republic underlined the need to preserve public enterprises while combating corruption and guaranteeing transparency in recruitment.

He also denounced the quality of public services such as health and transport, as well as the cumbersome nature of administrative procedures.

In this connection, he laid emphasis on the need to recover the money stolen from Tunisia and to ensure the proper management of public resources and companies.

“We have all the resources and skills needed to create wealth, and under no circumstances will we give up our ind
ependence and sovereignty,” he argued.

Community enterprises, which had been criticised by many, are also an important mechanism for creating wealth and jobs, and a form that has existed in several other countries such as the United States of America and China, the Head of State added.

“We must give the people the means, the mechanisms and the necessary legal framework to help them draw up their policies and achieve their objectives,” he said.

Saïed also considered that the success rates in national exams show the map of poverty in Tunisia.

“It is normal that a pupil who walks long distances to get to school and returns home late cannot achieve good academic results,” he regretted.

Kais Saïed also pointed to the need to guarantee women’s economic and social rights, notably in rural areas.

The UGTT General Secretary, for his part, underlined the trade union’s attachment to public enterprises and to the sovereignty of the State, considering these to be two red lines.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Supported by ten Arab countries, including Tunisia, the joint file “arts, skills and practices associated with engraving on metals (gold, silver and copper)” has just been inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

This new inscription was announced at the 18th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, held in Kasane, Republic of Botswana, December 4-9, 2023.

With this new entry on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, the number of Tunisian elements on the list rises to seven, following “the pottery skills of the women of Sejnane” (2018), “the Date palm, knowledge, skills, traditions and practices” (2022), “Knowledge, know-how and practices pertaining to the production and consumption of couscous” (2020), “Charfiya fishing” (2020), “Arabic calligraphy: knowledge, skills and practices” (2021) and “Harissa, Knowledge, skills and culinary and social practices” (2022).

According t
o the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, the scientific file was prepared by the National Institute of Heritage (INP) under the supervision of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and Alecso, and in coordination with the Republic of Iraq.

The inclusion of this file (supported by Tunisia, Palestine, Iraq, Algeria, Egypt, Mauritania, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Sudan) highlights the diversity of methods associated with the treatment of gold, silver, copper and metals for artistic, craft and economic purposes, as revealed today by the practice of engraving in many of Tunisia’s towns and medinas, such as Tunis, Kairouan, Sfax and Djerba.

Engraving on metals such as gold, silver and copper is a centuries-old practice that entails manually cutting words, symbols or patterns into the surfaces of decorative, utilitarian, religious or ceremonial objects.

The craftsperson uses different tools to manually cut symbols, names, Quran verses, prayers and geometric patterns into the objects. Engravings can be concave (recesse
d) or convex (elevated), or the result of a combination of different types of metals, such as gold and silver.

Their social and symbolic meanings and functions vary according to the communities concerned. Engraved objects, such as jewelry or household objects, are often presented as traditional gifts for weddings or used in religious rituals and alternative medicine.

For instance, certain types of metals are believed to have healing properties. Engraving on metals is transmitted within families, through observation and hands-on practice.

It is also transmitted through workshops organized by training centres, organizations and universities, among others. Publications, cultural events and social media further contribute to the transmission of the related knowledge and skills.

Practised by people of all ages and genders, metal engraving and the use of engraved objects are means of expressing the cultural, religious and geographical identity and the socio-economic status of the communities concerned.

Sourc
e: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

MPs from different parliamentary blocs considered that the 2024 finance bill does not meet the aspirations of the Tunisian people, regretting that it was not prepared in a participatory manner.

During a plenary session held on Wednesday to review the draft law, Independent National Bloc MP Sami Rayes said it was a law “for accounting purposes par excellence”, stressing that the 2024 budget will be “under pressure”.

“2024 is going to be tough,” the MP warned, speaking of fiscal pressure that will continue to burden citizens, high unemployment rates and a demotivating environment for entrepreneurship.

Néjib Akermi, a member of the “For the Triumph of the People” bloc, described the 2024 budget as a “management budget”, adding that it was in no way part of a policy of “self-reliance.»

According to him, this project will fail to create wealth and increase the productivity of different sectors. He stressed that it does not support small farmers and the poor, who today number four million.

“The current budget
does not take into account university graduates, whose number is increasing every year. Nor does it pay enough attention to the health sector, which is subject to real lobbies, or to the phosphate transport sector, which generates additional revenues to strengthen the state budget,” said Akremi, who called for “the adoption of a more liberal budget instead of one based on taxes”.

MP Youssef Tarchoun criticised the absence of revolutionary economic diplomacy and the lack of will to join the group of five BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), settling instead for cooperation with the European Union. He also criticised the delay in reforming public enterprises so that they can effectively contribute to national development efforts and the country’s self-sufficiency.

MP Maher Gtari stressed that “2024 should be a year of recovery by adopting a new economic model and reviewing many legislative texts, namely the foreign exchange law and the investment law”.

Independent MP Mokhtar Ifaou
i stressed that the current budget reflects the old economic and financial choices. It remains committed to the IMF’s instructions, particularly with regard to freezing salaries and hiring in the public sector amid high unemployment rates and precarious jobs.

According to the same deputy, this budget does not provide for the lifting of the austerity measures, but neither does it provide solutions to the unavailability of several basic products on the market, nor to tax evasion. “As a result, vulnerable groups will become poorer”.

He also criticised the lack of a clear vision on the independence of the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT) and the amendment of its statute, as well as the lack of a vision on global economic reform and effective economic diplomacy.

Meriem Cherif, an MP from the Voices of the Republic bloc, also argued that the 2024 finance law “does not meet the expectations of Tunisian citizens”.

“It will not support investment, nor will it promote job creation and the fight against poverty, margin
alisation and the emigration of young people. Nor will it offer subsidy to those who are entitled to it.”

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunisia launched the European Union-funded UNESCO World Heritage Route with a view to enhacing cultural and civilisational heritage and safeguarfing tangible and intangible heritage through the development of new tourist routes.

The launch event was attended by Minister of Tourism and Handicrafts Mohamed El Moez Belhassine, EU Ambassador to Tunisia Marcus Cornaro and German Ambassador in Tunis Peter Prgel,.

The project fits within Tunisia, our Destination programme. The latter is financed by the European bloc and Gerrmany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) under the Promotion of Sustainable Tourism project carried out by the German Agency for International Cooperation.

Belhassine placed emphasis on the importance of the project in the development of the tourism sector and the diversification of products and the need to increase efforts to enhance the Tunisia destination.

The project, such as the Tunisian Culinary Journey, would re-stimulate economic activity in various regi
ons and open up new employment prospects for youth in a bid to ensure a tourist season the whole year round.

The minister shed light on the implementation of a promotional programme based on digitisation to shed light on the project. A platform that defines tourism itineraries for travel agencies, tour guides, hotel owners was put in place to this end.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse