Tunisia's government announces new measures to tackle the crisis

Since 2011, Tunisia is one of the countries that have entered a very severe economic recession and is struggling to emerge from it. The different governments have tried to boost the economy, but the situation is very serious and, above all, is affecting the population, leaving high levels of poverty in the country. The Tunisian authorities are trying to resolve this conflict, and the country's government has just announced new measures to boost economic activity.

The Executive of the North African nation has drawn up a package of measures that focus on stimulating the country's wealth, boosting investment projects, developing exports, and creating a new business climate that will attract future international investors.

This was announced by the government in a statement on its official Facebook page. "The measures are aimed at restoring the confidence of economic actors and protecting the institutional fabric, thus restoring economic activity, stimulating public and private investment and gradually raising the level of growth," it said.

There are 50 new resources under four main pillars to address the situation: the first is to support the liquidity of financial institutions, so that banks can easily transform money into cash. The second will seek to facilitate access to finance, while the third is based on how to improve investment. Finally, Tunisia will work on facilitating the legal and strategic framework for business, as well as simplifying the process to boost exports. Procedures are outdated and cumbersome to access.

It is hoped that when these measures are fully implemented they will begin to accelerate long-stalled public projects and stimulate private investment. This is particularly the case for start-ups and small companies involved in agriculture and projects related to renewable energy production and procurement. In addition, a public-private partnership is to be established and the country's maritime transport services are to be strengthened.

The Tunisian government hopes that the measures will work well in Tunisia. A preliminary vision of a new dynamic in the short to medium term has been adopted in order to make them a success and start the recovery of the national economy. At the same time, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other associations are examining a structural reform programme to boost the financial situation. 

The country is experiencing one of its worst economic crises since independence. This is due to the mismanagement of the governments that have led the nation, as well as the failure to seek good and real solutions to manage the crisis. Over time, measures have started to be put in place, but just when it was thought that everything was normal, public debt started to reach record levels. The state budget deficit also worsened, inflation reached historic highs and poverty has reached dangerous levels that are worrying international observers, who believe that it will be difficult to recover from this. The Institute of Statistics says unemployment has risen to 18.4%, both because of the crisis and mismanagement and because of the consequences of the coronavirus.

It is worth noting that, due to the weak economy, many companies have gone bankrupt or have stagnated their exports, even experiencing dramatic moments in some periods.  This has led to an average trade deficit of more than 6 billion dollars, which is reflected in the country's labour market.