The Tunisian President declared that “it is imperative to know what happened to the loans granted by foreign countries billions were injected into Tunisia, without them having the slightest impact on the reality”.
Tunisian President Kaïs Saïed asked Finance Minister Sihem Boughdiri Nemsia to carry out a “global audit” of grants and loans obtained by Tunisia in recent years, to find out “where these funds have gone”.
This is what emerges from his speech delivered Thursday, at the start of the Council of Ministers at the Palace of Carthage, in the presence of the head of government Najla Bouden Romdhane, according to a press release and a video from the Tunisian Presidency, viewed by the correspondent of the Anadolu Agency.
“It is imperative to know what happened to loans granted by foreign countries billions were injected into Tunisia, without having the slightest impact on reality and that everyone assumes their responsibilities to this matter”, declared the Head of State.
And the tenant of Carthage wondered “Where has the money of the Tunisian people gone? Review some of the statements from a number of countries (unspecified) that have granted loans to Tunisia. Where have these loans gone over the past decade? And afterwards they (the opponents of exceptional measures) dare to speak of revolution and social justice”.
“An audit must be carried out, and I ask the Minister of Finance to carry out a global audit of all these funds, to find out where they went”, underlined Saïed, specifying, “part of his funds were transferred to the foreigner (without mentioning a precise destination, nor the party which ensured or carried out this transfer), but this money returns to the people and must be restored to them”.
The Tunisian President called on the justice system to “fulfill its role fully and not hesitate to apply the law to everyone, without exception and on an equal footing”.
There are no precise figures relating to donations and loans obtained by Tunisia since the 2011 revolution which overthrew former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
However, the former President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, said during a visit to Tunisia in 2018 that the European Union alone had granted Tunisia aid of 10 billion euros, during the first seven years after the 2011 revolution.
Tunisia has been in the throes of a serious political crisis since Kaïs Saïed decided on July 25 to dismiss Head of Government Hichem Mechichi, freeze the powers of Parliament for a period of 30 days, and lift the immunity of deputies, in the framework of exceptional measures. The head of state had also announced that he was assuming executive power with the help of a government of which he will appoint the head.
The tenant of Carthage had decided on September 22 to abolish the provisional body for the control of the constitutionality of bills, and to legislate by presidential decrees.
The majority of parties rejected Saïed’s decisions, extended sine die on August 24. Some parties have qualified these decisions as a “coup d’état against the Constitution”, while other political parties have been in favor, considering that it is a “restoration of the revolutionary process”, against a backdrop of crises. political, economic, and health (Covid-19).
The democratic transition process in Tunisia began after a popular revolution toppled the regime of then-president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali (1987-2011) in 2011.
On another level, the Tunisian president observed that “the African continent has endured poverty and wars for decades, and it is now time to put an end to these situations which continue to worsen”.
Kaïs Saïed was speaking by videoconference during a high-level debate session of the Security Council on cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations on the theme, “The African Union (AU), renewing solidarity to ensure peace and security in a changing conflict environment”, posted on the official Facebook page of the Tunisian Presidency.
“We must review some of the methods that have been adopted (to deal with the situation in Africa) and examine the real causes behind the persistence of these situations,” advocated the Tunisian president.