Tunisia is a victim of corruption and "thieves", says President Saied

Tunisian President Kais Saied, who travelled to Paris on Tuesday to attend a summit on the financing of African economies, said Tunisia is a victim of corruption and "thieves", lamenting the lack of reforms.

Tunisia, which has mounting debt, is negotiating with the International Monetary Fund in the hope of obtaining new loans in exchange for reforms to clean up its budget. At the Paris summit, the Tunisian president called for debt cancellation or suspension for poor countries.

"Tunisia needs money", but also "social justice and eradicating corruption", the president said in an interview with France 24 television channel. The country "has all the wealth, but, unfortunately, the more texts (anti-corruption legislation) the more thieves there are", said this independent academic elected president in 2019. And "they boast of reforms" without carrying them out, Saied continued, referring to the Islamist-inspired Ennahda party, the main parliamentary force with which he has a tense relationship.

The October 2019 legislative elections resulted in a parliament fragmented into a dozen parties and some 20 independents. Islamist Ennahda, which has 52 of the 217 seats in parliament, has been a key player in the negotiations to form a government - the third in just over a year - and has become the main supporter of the executive.

Ennahda accuses Saied, who was elected in a context of rejection of the political class in power after the 2011 revolution, of wanting to extend his prerogatives in defiance of the constitution. According to the latest polls on voting intentions, the Free Desturian Party (PDL), formed by those nostalgic for the former regime of General Ben Ali, is in the lead with 36 per cent, twenty points ahead of Ennahda, its main ideological adversary.

On January 26, the head of government, Hichem Mechichi, obtained a broad parliamentary majority to change eleven of the 25 portfolios - including interior, justice and health - but the president of the Republic, Kais Saied, rejects it on the grounds that he was not consulted beforehand and that five of the new ministers are implicated in cases of corruption and conflict of interest.

Tunisia, which is going through a deep political and socio-economic crisis, has to repay some 4.5 billion euros of debt this year. As a result, Tunisia needs an additional 5.7 billion euros to complete its 2021 budget. Its external debt has reached the symbolic mark of 100 billion dinars (about 30 billion euros), or 100 per cent of Tunisia's gross domestic product.

Following a ministerial delegation's visit to Washington in early May, technical talks with the IMF began, according to Tunisia, which expects a three-year agreement. This would be the fourth recourse to the Fund in a decade. In return for IMF support, Tunisia plans to restructure public enterprises and replace subsidies on basic necessities with direct aid to households by 2024. The IMF and other donors have stressed the need for broad political consultation to carry out these socially sensitive reforms.

For its implementation, the administration of Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi envisages a voluntary redundancy programme that will allow employees to keep 25% of their net salary, in addition to their social security contributions, while carrying out a private and remunerated activity. The plan also envisages early retirement in which the state will compensate the economic difference in the corresponding pension, as well as promoting a 50% reduction in working hours in exchange for a proportional reduction in salary.

At the same time, the government proposes to attract new entrepreneurs among the civil service through a temporary leave of absence of a maximum of five years for the creation of a company and the possibility of being able to reinstate their post with six months' notice.

It also defends the need to readjust salaries and bonuses in line with productivity gains and the evolution of inflation, including limiting the number of promotions per department or ministry.

Another proposal will be to encourage training and mobility programmes between central and local administrations in order to make up for the lack of staff in some functions and to improve citizen services.

The authorities are in contact with the World Bank, which has pledged nearly $100 billion to African countries to fund immunisation plans. The country has applied to join the COVAX scheme, set up by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to ensure equitable access to vaccines. 

The country's endemic corruption, political unrest and financial crisis do not help. Although the country has made the most progress, successive governments have been unable to improve the economic situation. The pandemic has further worsened this set of conditions, and the population remains disenchanted with the lack of progress and high unemployment.