Tunisia's Future According to Saïd Aydi, Minister of Employment...
31 May 2011
Read by 1384 persons
In an interview on the website www.usinenouvelle.com, Saïd Aydi, Tunisian Minister of Employment and Vocational Training, while participating in the World Investment Conference in La Baule this weekend, discusses the employment situation and social unrest, as well as investment, ongoing reforms, the cleaning up of economic circuits, and the postponement of elections...
Responding to a question about the employment situation in Tunisia, Saïd Aydi cites alarming figures: "When I took office in January, there were 520,000 job seekers, including 140,000 university graduates. Due to the revolution and the impact of events in Libya, this figure has risen to 600,000 unemployed, including 175,000 university graduates." The unemployment rate, which was 13.2%, has now risen to 17%, including those who have returned from Libya. "In some regions, this rate is 40%, particularly for university graduates," he specifies.
Considering this situation "unacceptable," Mr. Aydi states that "my goal is to develop employability and adapt initial training programs to the needs of the medium and long-term job market..."
Regarding the growth rate, the Minister of Employment remains optimistic in the short term, while recalling that Tunisia "is counting on and preparing for an economic recovery," because this year the country "should experience between 0% and 1% growth, but we estimate that we can return to a 12-month rolling growth rate of 5 to 6% from the fourth quarter." To do so, the government plans to "make the most of this period in terms of training, targeting in particular those who are unemployed but not necessarily employable... We plan to launch pilot projects, for example in the knowledge economy, to stimulate job creation and support the recovery. This is particularly the case in ICT, logistics, agri-food and of course tourism."
And to achieve this, Mr. Aydi affirms that "Tunisia has received a first level of support from our partners (France via AFD, Europe, the United States, the World Bank, the African Development Bank), about 2 billion in loans, but this is not enough." So "the transitional government has built a 5-year economic and social support plan presented to the G8 in Deauville. The objective is to obtain financing and donations for a total of 25 billion dollars"...
In the interview, the Minister of Employment listed the various reform axes undertaken by the transitional government, namely the improvement of governance, the development of human capital, the modernization of the financial system, the implementation of a legislative framework open to foreign and Tunisian investors, and an ambitious plan to accelerate investment in infrastructure.
In order of priority, the modernization of the finance and banking sector comes first. "The objective is for finance to support the economy and investment..." In this context, "we are preparing to set up a deposit caisse and a generational fund - which will combine public and private investors, including foreign ones, to support sectors with high employability such as ICT, tourism, R&D..."
To the question of whether "Tunisia will become a welcoming country for foreign investment again," Mr. Aydi replies that Tunisia "has been, and always will be." He adds: "Contrary to what people think, there has been no breakdown in discussions with European or American investors. None have decided to withdraw from Tunisia, even if some have suspended their projects. But we continue to submit files to the Higher Investment Commission in the fields of ICT, composites, agri-food, energy, automotive or aeronautics, particularly with Aerolia, with whom I am also working on training."
He believes that "the investment code is truly attractive. We need to put in place good governance of the country and reform the administration so that Tunisia becomes a full-fledged state of law. The texts exist, we need to dust them off a bit and apply them efficiently. What is new is that Tunisia will also be a host country for Tunisian investors who were confronted with a mafia system."
Published May 27, 2011
Posted online May 31, 2011
webmanagercenter.com
Responding to a question about the employment situation in Tunisia, Saïd Aydi cites alarming figures: "When I took office in January, there were 520,000 job seekers, including 140,000 university graduates. Due to the revolution and the impact of events in Libya, this figure has risen to 600,000 unemployed, including 175,000 university graduates." The unemployment rate, which was 13.2%, has now risen to 17%, including those who have returned from Libya. "In some regions, this rate is 40%, particularly for university graduates," he specifies.
Considering this situation "unacceptable," Mr. Aydi states that "my goal is to develop employability and adapt initial training programs to the needs of the medium and long-term job market..."
Regarding the growth rate, the Minister of Employment remains optimistic in the short term, while recalling that Tunisia "is counting on and preparing for an economic recovery," because this year the country "should experience between 0% and 1% growth, but we estimate that we can return to a 12-month rolling growth rate of 5 to 6% from the fourth quarter." To do so, the government plans to "make the most of this period in terms of training, targeting in particular those who are unemployed but not necessarily employable... We plan to launch pilot projects, for example in the knowledge economy, to stimulate job creation and support the recovery. This is particularly the case in ICT, logistics, agri-food and of course tourism."
And to achieve this, Mr. Aydi affirms that "Tunisia has received a first level of support from our partners (France via AFD, Europe, the United States, the World Bank, the African Development Bank), about 2 billion in loans, but this is not enough." So "the transitional government has built a 5-year economic and social support plan presented to the G8 in Deauville. The objective is to obtain financing and donations for a total of 25 billion dollars"...
In the interview, the Minister of Employment listed the various reform axes undertaken by the transitional government, namely the improvement of governance, the development of human capital, the modernization of the financial system, the implementation of a legislative framework open to foreign and Tunisian investors, and an ambitious plan to accelerate investment in infrastructure.
In order of priority, the modernization of the finance and banking sector comes first. "The objective is for finance to support the economy and investment..." In this context, "we are preparing to set up a deposit caisse and a generational fund - which will combine public and private investors, including foreign ones, to support sectors with high employability such as ICT, tourism, R&D..."
To the question of whether "Tunisia will become a welcoming country for foreign investment again," Mr. Aydi replies that Tunisia "has been, and always will be." He adds: "Contrary to what people think, there has been no breakdown in discussions with European or American investors. None have decided to withdraw from Tunisia, even if some have suspended their projects. But we continue to submit files to the Higher Investment Commission in the fields of ICT, composites, agri-food, energy, automotive or aeronautics, particularly with Aerolia, with whom I am also working on training."
He believes that "the investment code is truly attractive. We need to put in place good governance of the country and reform the administration so that Tunisia becomes a full-fledged state of law. The texts exist, we need to dust them off a bit and apply them efficiently. What is new is that Tunisia will also be a host country for Tunisian investors who were confronted with a mafia system."
Published May 27, 2011
Posted online May 31, 2011
webmanagercenter.com
