TUNIS: As day breaks over Tunis, Jamila Ghuili takes her two small children out into the streets to scavenge in waste bins for plastic bottles that she sells to buy food for her family.
Abandoned by her husband, the single mother lives in a poor part of Omrane Superieur, a neighborhood of the capital where Tunisia’s economic malaise is acutely felt.
“Everything has become expensive,” said Ghuili, as her children played next to her.
Exacerbated by the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic grievances have fueled discontent in Tunisia, leading to protests that encouraged President Kais Saied to remove the prime minister and assume governing authority last month.
Ghuili, 55, gathers a few kilograms of dirt-covered plastic each day, foraged from heaps of garbage dumped at the roadside.
The proceeds from selling the plastic, combined with limited financial assistance from the government, amount to 190 Tunisian dinars ($69) a month, around half her monthly rent.
Hamza Ayari, who buys the bottles and re-sells them to factories, says many people are doing the same. “They don’t have any other job, they are poor people,” he said.
Desperate for better lives, some of Omrane Superieur’s residents are hopeful about Saied’s move.
“I salute the people who voted for him, he is a good person,” said Fakhreddine Wannas, 56, a resident. “I hope he can take us out of the dark and into the light.”
It echoes sentiment expressed by other Tunisians who are fed up with political bickering and want to see an improvement in the economy — which shrank by 8.8 percent last year — and more effective action against COVID-19.
Saied, who was elected in 2019, says he will not become a dictator and that the actions he took on July 25, including the 30-day suspension of parliament, were constitutional. He has yet to set out next steps.
Soumaya, who paints henna tattoos for a living, expressed relief about the situation, saying that for a long time Tunisians did not know where they were heading. “Now we are all happy,” said Soumaya, as she painted a child’s hand.
Tunisians hope for better times ahead
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Tunisians hope for better times ahead
- The proceeds from selling the plastic, combined with limited financial assistance from the government
Saudi Arabia sees 21% jump in mining sector licenses since 2016
- The growth in the Kingdom’s mining sector licenses aligns closely with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 objectives, launched in 2016
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s mining sector has shown sustained growth, with the number of mining licenses increasing from 1,985 in 2016 to 2,401 by the end of 2024, representing cumulative growth of 21 percent, according to the 2024 mineral wealth statistics from the General Authority for Statistics.
The data highlights a steady upward trend in recent years. Licenses rose to 2,100 in 2021, marking a 6 percent increase from the previous year.
The upward trajectory continued with 2,272 licenses in 2022, 2,365 in 2023, and 2,401 in 2024, reflecting expanding exploration and investment activity across the Kingdom’s mining sector. Building material quarries accounted for the largest share of mining permits, climbing from 1,267 licenses in 2021 to 1,481 by 2024.
Exploration licenses also recorded consistent growth, supporting the Kingdom’s broader push to develop its mineral resources.
Other categories of mining activity saw significant expansion, including 2,554 exploration licenses, 744 exploitation licenses, 151 reconnaissance licenses, and 83 surplus mineral ore licenses issued during the same period.
The growth in the Kingdom’s mining sector licenses aligns closely with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 objectives, launched in 2016, which aim to diversify national income sources and strengthen non-oil sectors.
