ICG Report Calls on Tunisian Government to Show Immediate Progress in Economy

The International Crisis Group (ICG) released last week a report, admonishing the government to send swift, concrete, and positive signals to the people or else the risk of social unrest may become more heightened.

The American NGO’s report analyzes Tunisia in the aftermath of Ben Ali’s ouster and stresses the government’s responsibility to provide the people with concrete solutions.

The ICG focused upon the economic and social issues that are in need of immediate redress.  The report stated that the rate of unemployment has jumped five points since January 2011 and is currently at 19%.  This number is equivalent to 800,000 unemployed compared to the 500,000 before the revolution.  Furthermore, profits in key economic sectors, such as tourism and mining, have diminished in the eighteen months following the Arab Spring. The tourism industry has lost a third of its revenue, and the mining sector is struggling to survive. Two leading mining companies – Compagnie Des Phosphates de Gafsa and Groupe Chimique Tunisien – saw their losses triple from 2010 to 2011.

One of the socio-economic challenges facing the government is the decreased purchasing power of the majority of the population due to the ever-rising, national inflation. During Ben Ali’s era, inflation hovered around 3%. However, since the revolution, inflation has risen to 5.7%.

The report also compared the performance of the transitional government led by Beji Caid Essebsi and the current one of Hamadi Jebali. Esssebsi took the initiative to calm social unrest by including almost 200,000 young graduates in a program called Amel-Hope. Through the program, the students were granted 200 dinars per month for a whole year to cover the expenses of job applications and transport. Jebali is planning to modify this program with a conditional clause that will make it more selective, which will limit the impact that Amel-Hope has upon the student populace.

According to the ICG, Jebali’s government suffers from a serious lack of control over various social and governmental organizations like the Interior Ministry and the powerful General Tunisian Workers’ Union. Unions have in general taken advantage of the situation to increase the frequency of sit-ins, resulting in almost 120 enterprises quitting production. However, the minister of employment stated that this number was not exceptional as almost 120 enterprises quit the market annually.