TUNIS: Tunisian Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh said on Sunday he had decided against the use of more external debt and that all new expenses that arise for the country would be funded only through internal loans.
He said that he will freeze increases in the wages of public employees because of the critical state of public finances which was worsened by the coronavirus crisis.
This move could spark a conflict with the powerful UGTT Union, which is expected to reject the decision, and could lead to protests and strikes.
Tunisia needs an additional 4.5 billion dinars ($1.6 billion) of loans because of the coronavirus crisis, and the government will seek it from the local market, he added.
“External debt reached dangerous levels and now reached 60% of GDP, compared to 30% in 2013 and I decided not to continue in this way,” Fakhfakh said in interview with Attessia TV.
Tunisia expects the economy to shrink by up to 4.3% this year, the steepest drop since independence in 1956.
Tourism revenues fell by about 50% in the first five months of this year compared to the same period in 2019, as western tourists deserted Tunisia’s hotels and resorts.
“Public finances are very critical and we cannot continue with the approach of increasing wages,” Fakhfakh said.
If the situation continues as it is, the government could be forced to reduce wages, he added.
Tunisia is under pressure from the international lenders to freeze public sector wages — the bill for which doubled to more than 17 billion dinars in 2020 from 7.6 billion in 2010 — as part of measures to reduce its budget deficit.
But the UGTT says the monthly average wage of about $250 is one of the lowest in the world, with high inflation rates which reached 6.3 percent in May.
Tunisia’s PM decides against relying on more external debt, will freeze salaries
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Tunisia’s PM decides against relying on more external debt, will freeze salaries
- Tunisia expects the economy to shrink by up to 4.3% this year, the steepest drop since independence in 1956
Senior Hamas figure among 7 killed in Israeli airstrike
- Pair of Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza's Deir Al-Balah, killing a Hamas commander
- Boy, aged 16, among the dead
CAIRO: A senior figure in the armed wing of Hamas was among seven people killed on Thursday in a pair of Israeli airstrikes in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, a Hamas source said.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the incident. The Hamas source said one of the dead was Mohammed Al-Holy, a local commander in the group’s armed wing in Deir Al-Balah.
Hamas condemned the strikes on the Al-Holy family, in a statement that did not mention Mohammed or his role in the group. It accused Israel of violating the ceasefire deal in place since October, and attempting to reignite the conflict.
Health officials said the six other dead in the incident included a 16-year-old.
Israel and Hamas have traded blame for violations of the ceasefire and remain far apart from each other on key issues, despite the United States announcing the start of the agreement’s second phase on Wednesday.
More than 400 Palestinians and three Israeli soldiers have been reported killed since the ceasefire took effect in October.
Israel has razed buildings and ordered residents out of more than half of Gaza where its troops remain. Nearly all of the territory’s more than 2 million people now live in makeshift homes or damaged buildings in a sliver of territory where Israeli troops have withdrawn and Hamas has reasserted control.
The United Nations children’s agency said on Tuesday that over 100 children have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire, including victims of drone and quadcopter attacks.
Israel launched its operations in Gaza in the wake of an attack by Hamas-led fighters in October 2023 which killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. Israel’s assault has killed 71,000 people, according to health authorities in the strip, and left much of Gaza in ruins.
