Tomatoes: Dutch company “Desert Joy” to invest €200 million to expand its activities in Tunisia

(TAP) – The Dutch company specialising in tomatoes production for export “Desert Joy – Joie El Hicha” plans to allocate €200 million (the equivalent of 647 million dinars) to expand its activities in Gabes, the region where it is located.

 

These investments should generate nearly 4,000 jobs and develop a production capacity of 36,000 tonnes of tomatoes that will be exported to the European market, said CEO of the company, Kees Van Veen and his Tunisian partner Néjib Zarrouk, during a working session held with Minister of Economy and Planning, Samir Saied, at the headquarters of the ministry.

 

According to the company’s officials, the extension project provides for the creation of a seawater desalination plant for irrigation and other solar energy and wastewater recycling plants.

 

On this occasion, the Minister stressed that his department is ready to provide all the necessary support to the Dutch company which has been present in Tunisia since 2012, adding that favourable conditions will be guaranteed so that it can expand its activities.

 

Source: TAP News Agency

Government has increased fuel prices by 15.9% in 2022

(TAP) – «The government, which plans to lift the subsidy on fuel, has already increased the prices of these products by 15.9% since the beginning of 2022 through the automatic price adjustment mechanism, said Nada Triki, analyst at the Tunisian Observatory of the Economy.

 

Speaking Friday at a panel discussion on the “Reform of the fuel subsidy system,” Triki recalled that during the current year, the government has increased prices four times and recently decided a 5% hike instead of 3%.

 

He added that a 41% increase will be recorded, this year, if the government will apply a monthly increase of 3% in accordance with the budget law for the 2022.

 

The analyst stressed that the government considers the fuel subsidy as a social security mechanism in the form of indirect transfers.

 

Tunisia has seen, since 2013, when it signed its financial agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), an increase in fuel prices. The IMF has recommended, since 2016, the enactment of laws and the implementation of the automatic fuel price adjustment mechanism.

 

For the IMF, the fuel subsidy is costly, unfair and inefficient and rather supports large consumers and producers of energy in Tunisia, hence the need for its reform.

 

On the other hand, the IMF called on the country to launch a media campaign, to avoid social tensions, to find a legal mechanism for reform and establish a mechanism to support vulnerable families.

 

Triki recalled, in this context, that since 2013, successive governments have begun the implementation of progressive increases and move to a system of direct cash transfers.

 

She said in this regard that Morocco has recently adopted the fuel subsidy after its lifting in 2015 on the recommendation of the IMF.

 

Source: TAP News Agency

ODC says rejects any measure to remove fuel subsidy

(TAP) – The Consumer Defence Organisation (French: ODC), on Friday, expressed its rejection to any measure aiming to abolish the fuel subsidy before clarifying this issue and implementing a clear strategy to promote public transport, said head of the organisation Mohamed Zarrouk.

 

«We urge the government to adopt a clear and well-crafted vision to reduce the subsidy, and we reject the removal of the subsidy during this difficult situation,” he added in remarks at a panel discussion by the Tunisian Observatory of Economy Friday in Tunis.

 

He pointed out that Tunisia is under pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), regretting «the absence of Tunisian negotiators.»

 

The ODC calls to direct subsidy to the needy and to separate negotiations on the subsidy from those on fuel and electricity consumption.

 

He recalled that Tunisia started reducing the fuel subsidy in 2014, during the rule of Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa, targeting mainly large energy-consuming companies.

 

He also pointed out that the subsidy is a cost factor for all products and services in Tunisia, 90% of which are within the free price system. Therefore, removing subsidy will necessarily impact on prices.

 

Diesel prices will increase to 2.032 dinars in January 2023, if a 3% increase is decided, and to 2.153 dinars, if the increase is of the order of 5%, according to projections of the Tunisian Observatory of the Economy.

 

Source: TAP News Agency

ISIE takes part in 5th General Assembly of Association of World Election Bodies

(TAP) – Vice President of the Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE) Maher Jedidi represented the ISIE in the 5th General Assembly of the Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB) held from October 17 to 20 in Cape Town, South Africa.

 

Jedidi also took part in the international conference held on the margins of the main event, under the theme «Safeguarding Election Management Bodies in the Age of Global Democratic Recession,» as well as in the debates of the organisation’s executive committee.

 

The financial reports for 2019, 2020 and 2021 were approved at the meeting, the ISIE said in a statement Friday.

 

The General Assembly voted on the membership of the electoral bodies of Colombia, Ethiopia and Libya to the A-WEB.

 

The second day focused on ways to strengthen democracy in member countries, highlighting its role in achieving comprehensive development.

 

Source: TAP News Agency

Dismissed judges denounce non-implementation of Administrative Court’s decisions

(TAP)- Judges dismissed under Presidential Decree No. 516 expressed outrage at the “refusal” of state institutions to implement the Administrative Court’s decision on stay of execution of the dismissal of 49 magistrates.

 

“The Justice Ministry is using unprecedented retaliatory practices against dismissed magistrates,” the judges said in a statement released on Friday.

 

They underlined that the Justice Ministry initiated legal proceedings against them based on rigged files and false denunciations so as to “legitimize” the dismissal decisions and block the decisions of the Administrative Court.

 

The judges, who signed the statement, agreed to form a defence lawyers committee. It will made up of lawyers and jurists and will be in charge of monitoring criminal cases against them,” reads the statement.

 

The statement was also signed by coordinator of the working group in charge of monitoring the dismissal file Youssef Bouzakher.

 

Source: TAP News Agency

Organisations condemn “random” arrests of activists

(TAP) – Organisations, associations and trade unions said they «categorically reject the exploitation of the police and the judiciary to crack down on peaceful popular protests.”

 

These organisations emphasised in a statement Friday their support for all peaceful demonstrations «against the policy of marginalisation, and manipulating the future of Tunisians by the authorities in place.»

 

Signatories said they have started, in collaboration with the relevant structures, to provide legal support to people who have been brought to justice arbitrarily. They called on young people to continue peaceful protests, in respect for the law and the preservation of public and private property.

 

They also condemned the excessive use of force during the protests, adding they will hold a press conference next Tuesday to outline their position about the recent protests and the political and security treatment of this crisis.

 

Signatories include the Tunisian League for Human Rights (LTDH), the National Union of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT), the General Union of Tunisian Students (UGET), “Al Bawsala” Organisation and «Lawyers Without Borders» Organisation.

 

 

Source: TAP News Agency