Tunisia today is in a situation similar to what Ukraine was in 2014, and it may be doomed to bankruptcy, and it will not be able to pay its huge debts if it does not receive a huge plan from the International Monetary Fund.
The French magazine "Le Point" (Le Point) stated that when the international financial institution found Ukraine on the path of bankruptcy, and presented it with the third plan in 7 years, it asked it to implement the required reforms to benefit from the allocated funds, given that the transaction would be hand in hand, and perhaps such a scenario It will be witnessed by Tunisia, which since 2011 has received loans from the Fund, but has not fulfilled any of its promises.
From now on - as the magazine says - Tunisia finds itself in the situation of Kyiv in 2014, where 11 reforms were carried out before paying the first dollar that the country desperately needed, by reducing energy subsidies and increasing gas prices by 50%, and the country will be between two options: either the IMF international or bankruptcy.
high unemployment
The magazine noted what was stated in a recent note by the French Treasury’s General Directorate that “the massive resort to external borrowing planned for 2022 to cover nearly two-thirds of annual financing needs makes it necessary to conclude a program with the International Monetary Fund, and without the Fund there would be no new money.” “Because Tunisia only gives it loans in the financial markets at double-digit interest rates, because of its bad reputation with regard to public finance.
All signs sound the alarm, as 18.4% of the population is unemployed, including 42% of the youth, and this is accompanied by a collapse in total investment and savings rates in 2021 with an inflation rate of 7.2% in March, at a time when investment relapsed Foreign direct, and growth will be at only 2.6%, according to the Central Bank.
The French Treasury estimates that the Russian-Ukrainian crisis will further limit growth prospects due to sluggish European demand and drying up of Russian tourism.
The magazine warned that Tunisian President Kais Saied devotes his days to canceling the democratic building built by the 2011 revolution, at a time when the economy continues to deteriorate, and the country stands between the options of "the International Monetary Fund or bankruptcy", as if the economy could bear more waiting.