Tunisia is looking to an economic overhaul before resuming loan talks with the International Monetary Fund. Economy and Finance Minister, Ali Kooli says he’s committed to taking what he calls ‘’unpopular steps’’ to salvage the economy.
It is not clear what the steps are, but the state news agency reports of a government proposal to reduce working hours for public sector workers. It forms part of efforts to cut public spending, one of the recommendations by the IMF.
Protests in Tunisia over unemployment and poor living conditions have plagued the country for more than a month. And they could get even worse. Ali Kooli told reporters in early February he is fully committed to taking the unpopular steps. Such reforms would limit the public sector wage bill, cut subsidy spending, and restructure loss making state-owned companies. The country has been hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic and in 2020, its economy contracted 8.2 per cent, with both poverty and unemployment risin