Tunisia-National action started to be prepared for post-COVID period

The signatories pointed out the need to extend the general lockdown and to generalise the screening tests to better stem the spread of the virus.

They also recommend firm measures to respect the mandatory health isolation in all hospital and accommodation centres.

They insisted on the need to isolate the virus clusters while ensuring the supply of basic products to the locals, organise disinfection and sterilisation campaigns in public spaces and provide protection masks.

They also proposed to make it mandatory for specialised medical equipment manufacturing plants to provide for the needs of medics and paramedics, as well as security and military institutions and service sector employees and for requisitioning private clinics and drug manufacturing units to support the efforts of the public health sector.

In another vein, the signatories called for the need to hand over the social aid directly to the entitled categories, to avoid over-crowding.

At the economic level, they called for the government to urgently begin negotiations with the international financial institutions for the repayment of debts estimated at 11.7 billion dinars.

They suggested to postpone the repayment of the loan granted by Qatar (750 million dinars) and to ask foreign enterprises active in Tunisia to postpone the transfer of their profits to their respective countries, which are estimated at 3.5 billion dinars.

Among the proposals put forward as part of this initiative is the creation, as an exceptional measure, of a tax on large fortunes, on the profits of banks, insurance companies and large retailers.

They also suggest reducing imports to only basic commodities in order to remedy the trade deficit and support small farmers, in particular by cancelling their debts.

At the scientific research level, the signatories called for taking urgent measures to rehabilitate this sector.

The COVID-19 has increased awarennes about the importance of rethinking public policies in matters of health, education and transport, they indicated.

The initiative is signed by 9 political parties, namely the Popular Current, Workers’ Party, Al Joumhouri, Tunisia Forward, Al Baath, Democratic Pole and the Left-wing Socialist party.

The Tunisian Organisation against Torture, the General Union of Students of Tunisia, the Tunisian League for Tolerance, the Mohamed Brahmi Foundation for Peace and Solidarity and 37 national personalities are also part of this initiative.