Month: June 2023

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Al-Joumhouri party calls on Kais Saied to halt legal proceedings, political pressure

The Republican Party (Al-Joumhouri) calls on the President of the Republic to halt legal proceedings and political pressure, release prisoners then launch an inclusive national dialogue involving political and social forces and civil society organisations, spokesperson Wissem Sghaier said on Thursday.

An inclusive national dialogue is required, he said, to produce "a salvation plan" that would help steer the country out of the economic and social crisis far away from "unilateral decisions."

Sghaier was speaking at a press conference organised on the one hundred days of the arrest of Secretary General Issam Chebbi.

"The arrests of politicians isolated Tunisia and exacerbated its socio-economic crisis," he added.

Issam Chebbi and other political activists were jailed in the so-called "Conspiracy against the State" case over their political views which are opposed to the Head of State's, the spokesperson said.

Interim SG Abdellatif Hermassi said the "unilaterality of decisions," "power monopoly" as well as "the repression of opponents" will only aggravate economic and social conditions.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

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BCT: foreign currency assets shrink by 602 MD

Foreign currency assets shrank by 602 MD (-2.5%), reaching TND 23.031,5 million at the close of the financial year 2022 against 23.633,5 MD one year earlier, it emerges from the Financial Statements and the Report of the Statutory Auditors for the year ended on December 31, 2022 published Thursday by the BCT.

Foreign currency inflows in 2022 from drawings on foreign loans fell short of covering outflows as a result of the worsening trade balance and external debt-related payments.

The main drawings made during the financial year under review are as follows:

- 700 million dollars relating to the loan agreement dated April 13, 2022 between the Central Bank of Tunisia acting in the name and on behalf of the Republic of Tunisia and the AFRICAN EXPORT-IMPORT BANK. The amount was unlocked in two installments on April 15 and April 20, 2022.

- 300 million euros- a second installment of the EEC loan granted under the Macro-Financial Assistance programme (MFA III) unlocked on May 25, 2022.

- 200 million dollars relating to the financial protocol of December 1, 2022, between Tunisia and Algeria on loan for budget support. The funds were released on December 28, 2022.

- 143 million euros - a first installment of an International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) loan (357 MEUR dated April 6, 2022), for the Social Affairs Ministry to meet the expenses of Tunisia COVID-19 Social Protection Emergency Response Support Project. The funds were released on May 20, 2022.

- 100 million euros - a second tranche of a KFW loan of 300 MEUR (March 6, 2020) granted as part of the banking and financial sector reform programme. The funds were unlocked on January 26, 2022.

- 100 million dollars related to the financial protocol (December 1, 2022) between Tunisia and Algeria on a grant for a budgetary support. The amount was released on December 29, 2022.

The year 2022 saw the refunding of the following:

- $254 million for the last installment of the principal and interest of the Qatari private placement of 2017 on April 22, 2022.

- JPY 3.5 billion for the principal maturity of the bond (2012), in December 2022.

- $109 million for two installments in principal and interest due on a Saudi loan in January and July 2022.

- SDR 38 million for two installments in principal due on the IMF loan granted under the Extended Credit Facility programme in June and December 2022.

- pound 47.8 million in interest charges on the pound 850 million bond issue in February 2022.

Net foreign currency holdings till May 16, 2023, reached 93 days of import, i.e. 21.6 billion dinars, against 123 days of import (23.5 billion dinars ) on the same date last year, according to data published by the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT).

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

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Government preparing major reform programme (FinMin)

The government is preparing a major reform programme and a major project to boost investment in the country, Finance Minister Sihem Nemsia stressed on Thursday.

In this context, she announced that several bills will be submitted to the Assembly of People's Representatives (ARP) in the coming days.

Speaking at a plenary session of the ARP, Nemsia also pointed out that the government was under great pressure to resort to borrowing, both domestically and abroad, in order to meet its commitments regarding the wage bill, social transfers for vulnerable groups and import of fuel and basic products needed by the country.

There are external factors, in particular the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, which will weigh heavily on the State's financial balance in 2022, given the increase in import prices for fuels, grain, oils and sugar, she recalled.

The Minister pointed out that the State's debt at the end of 2022 will be around 115 billion dinars, equivalent to 79.9% of GDP. However, she predicted that the State's own resources would increase by 22% in 2022 thanks to the improvement in tax revenues.

Nemsia said reducing debt depends on boosting economic growth, fighting corruption and instilling a culture of hard work.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse