During the opening of the work of the Ministerial Council, President Kais Saied stressed the need for reconciliation with businessmen in order to solve the stifling economic crisis that Tunisia is experiencing, in conjunction with the International Monetary Fund’s announcement that the government has submitted a request for funding, as intensive consultations are taking place between the two sides.
Saeed called on members of the government to review the draft penal reconciliation law, and to submit their observations regarding it as soon as possible for approval, in order to “guarantee the recovery of the people’s money.”
Observers and experts appreciate the government’s efforts to solve the economic crisis in Tunisia, but at the same time, warnings are increasing day after day, for fear of exacerbating the situation if rescue attempts are delayed.
It is expected that Tunisia will need external financing of up to 6.7 billion dollars for the 2021 budget, in order to cope with the increase in oil prices, and as a result of the decline in the foreign exchange reserve in the Tunisian Central Bank to 7.7 billion dollars, the value of the Tunisian dinar fell by 43%, which led to an increase in the prices of basic commodities. .
Tunisian economist Qais Makni believes that his country “is living in an unprecedented financial situation, which requires it to convince the International Monetary Fund and financial authorities to get it out of this crisis.”
In an interview with “Sky News Arabia”, Makni explained, “It is expected that the state budget deficit will be in the range of 15 percent during this year, and this would further complicate the situation, especially in the negotiations that Tunisia is conducting with the International Monetary Fund, which are going on at a slow and unsustainable pace.”
The Tunisian expert stresses the need for the government to be bold and open about implementing economic reform measures, with a commitment to disclose all information related to the economy, noting that “openness and disclosure of information is a citizen’s right.”
Makni believes that the government “must stop the external debt and inflation, and integrate the parallel economy with the national economy.”
According to him, the economic collapse in Tunisia is “only the responsibility of the Brotherhood’s Ennahda movement, as it is the only party that continued to rule without interruption.”
He explained, “Before the Brotherhood took power, whether in the government or parliament since 2011, Tunisia was enjoying years of economic renaissance, and today, with their failure to manage the economic file, they have pushed the country back decades.”
Tunisia’s external debt has reached more than 35.7 billion dollars, and the country is required to pay about 5.4 billion dollars of it this year, or more than 100 percent of the gross domestic product, and it needs about 6 billion dollars to fill the deficit in the 2021 budget.
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