For two years, the country has experienced high inflation which is very penalizing for the working classes, due in particular to the country’s strong dependence on grain and energy imports which soared after Russia invaded Ukraine.
President Kais Saied on Thursday appointed a new governor as the head of the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT) in a context of economic and social crisis and increased state debt.
Mr. Saied appointed Fethi Zouhair Nouri, 69, an economics professor and already a member of the BCT board of directors, to succeed Marouane Abassi, 64, whose six-year term expires on Saturday. This appointment comes after the vote on February 6 in Parliament of a controversial amendment to the law guaranteeing the independence of the BCT which authorizes direct financing of the budget deficit by the issuing institute.
This text grants an exemption for a BCT loan to the Tunisian state, already heavily indebted to the tune of 80% of GDP. This 10-year, interest-free credit amounts to 7 billion Tunisian dinars (around 2 billion euros), including 3 billion intended to repay old foreign debts in the coming weeks.
For two years, the country has experienced high inflation (between 8 and 10% per month over one year), which is very penalizing for the popular classes, due in particular to the country’s strong dependence on cereal and energy imports which skyrocketed after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Growth, which had restarted after the COVID-19 epidemic, ran out of steam, peaking at 0.4% in 2023 due to a drought linked to climate change (compared to 2.4% in 2022), according to statistics from the National Institute INS announced Thursday.
According to the INS, the unemployment rate increased at the end of 2023 to reach 16.4% (15.2% at the end of 2022), particularly affecting young people aged 15 to 24 with 40.9% unemployed in this category at the end of 2023 (38.8% at the end of 2022).
According to his official profile, Mr. Nouri has been a member of the board of directors of the BCT since 2016, which guides the country’s monetary policy. Since 2013, he has also been a member of the Economic Analysis Council (CAE), which provides its expertise to the government. This specialist in energy issues has taught at the Faculty of Economics and Management in Tunis since 1990.
The socio-economic crisis is coupled with strong political tensions since President Saied assumed full powers in July 2021, shaking the young democracy born from the first revolt of the Arab Spring.
Before the vote, Mr. Abassi had warned of “a decline in foreign currency reserves” with potentially negative effects on the Tunisian dinar. MPs and experts were also concerned about the inflationary pressures that could result from this loan.
