Shaaban Bilal (Cairo)
Yesterday, the International Monetary Fund revealed that it had reached an initial agreement with Tunisia on a $ 1.9 billion bailout package, which could be completed in December.
Tunisia has been in dire need of international assistance for months, as it has been under the weight of a financial crisis, while the expert-level deal aims to provide a 48-month package through the so-called “extended funds facility” to help Tunisia to restore macroeconomic stability, strengthen social safety nets and fiscal equality and implement reforms that promote growth and create jobs.
The Tunisian economy has suffered several hits in recent years, as political unrest and armed attacks have damaged the vital tourism sector, even before other challenges such as the “Covid-19” pandemic and the shortage of global goods due to the crisis in Ukraine .
The International Monetary Fund has warned that growth is likely to slow down in the short term, which will put more pressure on the inflation rate, as well as on the trade and financial balance.
Political experts and analysts have considered that the IMF loan is necessary to cope with the economic crisis in Tunisia, but it does not represent a complete solution, stressing that it will be an engine for the economic reforms promised by the government.
Tunisian political analyst Mohamed Saleh Al-Obeidi said: “This loan is essential for the recovery of the Tunisian economy for several reasons, the first of which is that it will give the Tunisian government the opportunity to exit the financial markets to cover the huge budget deficit, which amounted to almost 8 billion dollars, a record in the history of the Tunisian economy. ».
He added to Al-Ittihad that the second reason is that the loan from the International Monetary Fund will serve as the main engine for the government’s promised economic reforms, namely to reduce the pressure on public spending, which would stimulate economic activity.
For his part, Tunisian political analyst Munther Thabet said that obtaining a loan from the International Monetary Fund would reduce the pressure on Tunisia, particularly on the state budget, but alone could not save the economy, given the size of the public debt. domestic and foreign.
He told Al-Ittihad that this loan is the result of the International Monetary Fund’s assessment of the possible performance of the Tunisian economy in light of structural reforms, adding that this assessment will allow Tunisia to enter global financial markets and borrow from institutions. banking and other countries.
He stressed that Tunisia’s access to the IMF loan will be one of the driving forces for the recovery of the economy in the coming period.
Political experts and analysts expect this loan to be a booster dose and a start to alleviate the economic crisis and relaunch the general budget, but have stressed the need to work, through this loan, to once again win the trust of international institutions. .
To this, the Tunisian political analyst Nizar Al-Jedidi explained that the loan involves the imposition of painful reforms, the most important of which is the rationalization of subsidies and the reduction of wages, which the Fund considers a “black animal” in the Tunisian economy.
He added to Al-Ittihad that it would be the beginning of profound reforms for the Tunisian economy, especially since the Fund provided for the presence of representatives of the “Labor Union” and the “Customs Organization” to ensure maximum consensus. on these reforms, noting that it would also take Tunisia out of its economic isolation and open the door to a wide range of foreign investment.
