Tunisia-Marouen Abassi: Fitch’s rating downgrade is mainly the result of political instability

The governor of the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT), Marouen Abassi, announced that the review of the rating by Fitch Rating results from the absence of reformations, visions and strategic decisions.

“I said that during the palriment plenaries! “, he declared. “We are not in the same situation as Lebanon however we are not far from it “, he added.

Speaking on Express FM, Marouen Abassi, evoked that in 2020, Tunisia’s economic growth declined by 9% following the spread of the Coronavirus and political instability. “Fitch’s press release is clear! The agency stressed the lack of vision, the increase in the budget deficit and the incompleteness of the 2021 budget, ”he said.

Fitch Rating has largely motivated Tunisia’s rating downgrade by political instability. Marouen Abassi looked back on the major events of the past three years: Tunisia has undergone elections, two governments and a pandemic. “Since the revolution, Tunisia has had ten finance ministers! “, he added

The governor of the BCT revealed that Tunisia has not yet begun negotiations on a program with the IMF. “We need to make clear decisions on several issues! “, he added. The IMF asked us for resolutions concerning the wage bill and the rehabilitation of public enterprises. The compensation fund is also one of the issues raised by the IMF, continued Marouen Abassi.

 Abassi considered that Tunisia needs to adopt a reform program different from those which preceded. “These were not applicable,” he criticized. He, therefore, evoked the example of subsidies. “It was under control until 2008. Nevertheless, the global crisis has strongly impacted Tunisia. In order to improve the situation, solutions must include digital payment solutions for example. Reforms must be implemented slowly. The IMF calls for a clear project with stages. Decisions must be made with the participation of UGTT, UTICA and teams of economists. “,