Tunisian Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi called for a comprehensive national dialogue that would lead to urgent solutions to the crisis the country is going through, while Prime Minister Hicham El Mechichi warned of the seriousness of the financial situation in light of the large budget deficit and high debt.

In a speech that opened today, Saturday, the parliament's plenary session devoted to discussing the draft finance law and the state budget for the year 2021, Ghannouchi called for a national, economic and social dialogue that brings together the government, parliament, social and professional organizations and political parties in order to achieve the vital demands of Tunisians.

He added that this dialogue represents an urgent necessity and is guaranteed to stop the slide and put the country on the path of major reforms.

The head of the Tunisian parliament and the head of the Ennahda movement said that the national dialogue should be based on economic and social priorities.

He stressed that the demands of local development, social justice, and the improvement of living conditions are legitimate for the Tunisian people, but he stressed that the protests taking place in some regions should not deviate from their framework to threaten civil peace, the unity of the state and the stability of its institutions.

With regard to the difficult economic and social conditions that Tunisia is going through, which were exacerbated by the Corona epidemic, the President of the Tunisian Parliament referred to the fragility of the economic situation in the country.

He said that the volume of debt for the year 2021 may exceed 19 billion dinars (7 billion dollars), in addition to the public debt, which reached 90% of the GDP, considering that these indicators indicate the existence of unprecedented imbalances in Tunisia.

After the government recently reached a settlement with protesters demanding jobs in the governorate of Tataouine (southeast), protests erupted in several governorates demanding their share of development, and some moves disrupted the distribution of cooking gas, while protesters tried to stop production in the mining basin area (southwest). It is a phosphate-producing region.

Government statement

For his part, Prime Minister Hisham El-Mechichi told MPs that his government would work to stop the drain on public finances, and promised to implement reforms.

During his presentation of his government's statement to the deputies today, Mechichi added that the drain on public finances "disturbed all Tunisia's financial balances to the point that it has become a real threat to national sovereignty," according to what was quoted by the official Tunis Africa news agency.

He pointed out that the current draft budget reduces public expenditures by 1.6% compared to last year's budget, but on the other hand it increases expenditures allocated to development.

He said that the government expects negative growth of 7% and a budget deficit of more than 11%, reviewing a set of reforms to support the state’s financial resources, including combating tax evasion.

While al-Mushashi described the draft budget that his government presented to Parliament as reflecting the current situation, the head of the Ennahda Movement bloc in Parliament called for fundamental amendments to be made to it.

With regard to the protests, the Tunisian Prime Minister said that the time for security dealing with movements calling for development has passed.

But he warned at the same time that the state would not be subject to blackmail, nor for what he called miserable attempts to twist an arm.

After the recent protests in governorates including Gabes, Baja and Gafsa, the government decided to send delegations to various regions of the country, while the Tunisian General Labor Union (the largest trade union in Tunisia) said that it supports peaceful protests but does not support disrupting production.