Speaking to Tunisie Numérique, economic expert Ridha Chkondali remarked on Tunisia’s classification by the International Monetary Fund on the negative list for the first time since joining the Fund in 1958. The list includes several other nations such as Venezuela, Yemen, Belarus, Chad, Haiti, and Myanmar.
Chkondali noted that the government has finalized the 2024 Finance Law for the year 2024. The major issue with the government’s choices in this law is the presence of a financial gap worth 10.3 billion dollars, and the sources for financing this gap are unknown. The government is trying to convince some Arab countries to provide loans, given that Tunisia did not allocate funds from certain European Union countries like Germany, Italy, and France in the current year’s finance law.
The economist voiced concern that Arab countries might take precautions due to this recent classification, particularly if Tunisia does not adopt a clear reform program secured by the IMF.
Concerning this classification, Chkondali stated that Tunisia does not have extreme economic problems. Instead, the process happened after the IMF delegation couldn’t visit Tunisia by Article Four, which obliges contributing countries to the donor institution to welcome delegations. These meetings are crucial for the IMF to understand the country’s direction for the year 2024 and prepare reports related to the growth rate for the same year.
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