Tunisia to Halve Deficit in Three YearsSource: www.export-egypt.com 9/11/2017, Location: Africa |
|
|
|
Tunisia’s government wants to halve its budget deficit and trim the public wage bill in the next three years as part of a reform package to revive the economy, Prime Minister Youssef Chahed said.
“We are preparing an economic plan to relaunch and salvage the Tunisian economy,” he told parliament five days after naming a cabinet including a new minister in charge of economic reforms. “This is needed to balance our finances.” Chahed said the government aimed to reduce the deficit to 3 percent of gross domestic product by 2020 from 6 percent expected this year. He said growth was expected to hit 5 percent that year; in the first half of this year, the economy expanded by 1.9 percent. Though Tunisia has been praised for its democratic progress after the 2011 uprising against autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, successive governments have failed to advance in economic reforms to trim deficits and create jobs and growth. Backed by the International Monetary Fund, the North African country is looking to reduce subsidies, overhaul its pension system and shrink its large public sector. But worries over social unrest have kept authorities from advancing with reforms. Chahed said the government planned to reduce the public wage bill to around 12.5 percent of GDP from the current 14 percent - one of the highest ratios in the world. In an effort to boost foreign currency reserves, he said the government would also loosen currency controls to allow Tunisians to hold foreign currency accounts locally and introduce an amnesty for illicit foreign currency trade. |
|
Financials and Investment News in Tunisia >> |
Egypt >> 11/21/2024 - An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission led by Ivanna Vladkova Hollar wrapped up in-person discussions with Egyptian authorities in Cairo regardi...
|
Egypt >> 11/21/2024 - The Engineering Export Council of Egypt (EEC) revealed that engineering industry exports increased by 25.6 percent from January to September, reaching...
|
Egypt >> 11/20/2024 - Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly held a meeting this morning at the government headquarters in the New Administrative Capital with Mr. Chang Won Sa...
|
Egypt >> 11/20/2024 - Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly, with Mahmoud Esmat, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Minister, and Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Ministe...
|
Egypt >> 11/20/2024 - Egypt and Australia have seen a significant surge in their bilateral trade relationship, with the trade volume increasing from $270 million in 2015 to...
|
Egypt >> 11/20/2024 - Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli chaired the Cabinet’s weekly meeting in the New Administrative Capital.
The Cabinet is set to add... |
Tunisia Oil & Gas 1 >> 2 | |