The representative of the International Monetary Fund in Tunisia, Jerome Fasche, said that the government must implement "very deep" reforms, most notably reducing the public sector sector, amid political tension in the country, as many forces and parties reject the exceptional measures taken by President Kais Saied.

Fasche said - in an interview with Agence France-Presse published today, Sunday - that discussions between the Fund and the Tunisian government are still in a preliminary stage, as the Fund first wants "to know the intentions of (the authorities) in terms of economic reforms, because there is a need for very deep structural reforms."

He added that Tunisia needs "a solid and reliable program in the medium term that is presented to the people, even if this requires an explanation of the difficulties."

The Tunisian government, headed by Najla Boden, requested a new program of financial assistance after it assumed responsibility last October, according to the exceptional decisions taken by President Kais Saied on July 25, when he froze the work of Parliament and dismissed the previous government.

President Saeed is seeking to amend the constitution and hold new parliamentary elections within what he calls the "road map", but he faces rejection from several forces and parties accusing him of overturning the constitution and monopolizing power.

Several parties and organizations have condemned the security forces' repression of the demonstrations that took place the day before yesterday, Friday, the 11th anniversary of the Tunisian revolution, and warned against "the return of the police state."

Green light

In the midst of these developments, the representative of the International Monetary Fund said that the Fund is aware of the impact of its decisions on other national and external public and private donors, and pointed out that the European Union and other major countries have linked providing any assistance to Tunisia with a green light issued by the Fund.

Fasche said that this constitutes a responsibility on the shoulders of the fund, but stressed that "the greatest responsibility lies with the decision-makers, and they must move to find solutions."


Fasche, at the end of his three years of mission, mentioned a number of pressing issues in Tunisia;

Including the "great weight" of public sector employees, as the wages of the 650,000 public employees account for more than half of the state's annual expenditures without counting local authorities and public companies.

The official added that this particular situation in Tunisia - "where the mass of wages in the public service is one of the largest in the world" even compared to the situation in Egypt, Morocco, Lebanon and Jordan - prevents the country from increasing future expenditures, investments, education and health expenditures.

Another urgent issue is the initiation of a "deep reform of public companies" working in various fields of communications, electricity, water and air transport.

Fasche noted that, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Tunisia experienced the largest economic recession since its independence in 1956, but he stressed that "the country's problems were a precedent (for the pandemic), especially the budget deficit and public debt (it reached about 100% of GDP at the end of 2021). ".

After a decline in GDP of about 9% in 2020;

The Tunisian economy returned and recorded a growth of more than 3% in 2021. Fasche said that growth "remains weak and insufficient" to absorb the unemployment rate, which exceeds 18%.

On the financial side, however, he ruled out that Tunisia would be on the verge of bankruptcy, saying, "There is a management of the budget that takes place and adapts to the situation, albeit in an imperfect manner."