Tunisian President: There is no truce in the fight against corruption

Tunisian President Kais Saied affirmed that the people’s aspirations and expectations “will be fulfilled according to their free will, away from any dictates or pressure,” stressing that “there is no truce in the resistance to corruption.”

This came during the President of the Republic’s reception, on Friday evening, of the Speaker of the Assembly of People’s Representatives, Ibrahim Bouderbala, and the President of the National Council of Regions and Regions, Imad Al-Derbali, in a presidential statement.

During this meeting, the President stressed the redoubling of efforts to confront “everyone who tries to harm the security of the nation and the safety of its people, and not to ignore or forget the legitimate demands of the Tunisian people,” noting that many public facilities are witnessing deliberate and intentional disruptions in their normal operation, such as cutting off water and electricity, delaying the provision of services within the legal deadlines, or not providing them at all.

The President of the Republic also stressed ensuring the continuity of institutions and the stability of their functioning, stressing that this stability can only be achieved in light of social stability, based on laying the foundations of revolution, justice and equity.

In the context of his talk about the rise in prices, the President stressed the necessity of putting an end to it, and confronting the manifestations of disguised monopoly, which has begun to affect a number of agricultural materials, and the obstruction by some parties of the distribution of fertilizers and seeds, which increases the suffering of farmers and threatens agricultural production. Stressing that “the Tunisian people have the right to enjoy a decent life, and to find materials in the markets at reasonable prices and within their reach, away from the dominance of the barons of corruption, monopoly and speculation,” according to a statement by the Presidency of the Republic.

In this context, the President of the Republic stressed that the most prominent manifestations of corruption that must be uprooted are the sudden and artificial changes in the prices of a number of materials, which appear in the markets and then disappear unjustified, in practices aimed at creating artificial scarcity, controlling prices, and raising them at the expense of citizens.

Pointing out in this context that there are parties that “deliberately exploit such situations to inflame social conditions, within the framework of plans that have no other goal than pushing the country backwards.”

On Friday, the President of the Republic also received the Minister of Education, Nour al-Din al-Nouri, the current president of the Supreme Council for Education, and Muhammad Ali al-Boughdiri, the secretary-general of this constitutional body.

The Head of State pointed out the importance of this constitutional institution and its inclusion in the text of the constitution, and stressed that there is no future for future generations except with a democratic national education available to all young people in various parts of the country, considering that the educational reforms did not stem from the will of the people, but rather came as a result of external dictates.

During the meeting, the Head of State stressed the need to inspire new methods and methods in developing the educational system, and to organize continuous forums to exchange ideas and perceptions, while avoiding mistakes and staying away from the calculations of politics and politicians.

Today (Saturday), Mauritanian Prime Minister Mokhtar Ould Ajay presented to the National Assembly the general policy statement of his new government, indicating that it is based on three prominent goals: improving the purchasing power of citizens, revitalizing the economy and agriculture in the interior states, and preparing a long-term strategic vision.

The Prime Minister delivered his speech before members of the National Assembly (Parliament) and members of the government, in an open session, before it was adjourned, with the representatives and ministers returning next Monday to discuss the government’s policies, before voting on granting the government confidence.

The government is not afraid of this vote, as it has the support of most members of Parliament, but opposition representatives are exploiting this debate to shed light on what they consider to be “failed policies” or “fallacies” that the government is talking about.

Ould Ajay said that he realizes that “trust is an obligation before it is an honour,” and stressed that his government will not differ from its predecessor in implementing the general policy declaration, which he presented in September 2024, and the 2026 action plan, which includes 228 activities. But he said that it “will undertake without delay all necessary developments in work methods and mechanisms.”

Ould Ajay has held the position of Prime Minister in Mauritania since August 2024. He submitted his resignation last October, but the president renewed confidence in him and assigned him to form a new government. In this context, Ould Ajay reviewed the results of his previous government, noting that the average economic growth exceeded 4 percent between 2019 and 2026, and he expected it to remain above this level between 2027 and 2029. He highlighted that the external debt fell to less than 40 percent of GDP in 2026.

On the social side, Ould Ajay said that more than 350,000 families benefited for the first time from cash transfers, and that annual appropriations to support fuel and electricity exceeded 80 billion old ouguiya (about 200 million US dollars) in the year 2026 alone, noting that the number of citizens obtaining health insurance increased from 496,000 in 2019 to more than 1.4 million in 2026.

In terms of infrastructure, the same official said that since 2019, about 7,600 classrooms and 784 kilometers of new roads have been completed, another 997 kilometers were rebuilt, and 1,340 wells were drilled. He announced that the work of the deep-water port in Nouadhibou will begin next January.

The Prime Minister also said that the previous government approved 156 draft laws and 383 regulatory decrees, including anti-corruption and property declaration laws, and the establishment of a national anti-corruption authority.

The speech was not without an acknowledgment of the shortcomings, as the Prime Minister said, “Every outcome remains incomplete as long as there is an honorable and generous head of a family... who struggles to reconcile a limited income, if any, with his family’s urgent daily needs.” The Prime Minister linked some of the pressures to the war in the Middle East, which began at the end of February, saying that the price index rose cumulatively by about 7.3 percent between the end of February and the end of last September. President Mohamed Ould Sheikh Ghazouani was quoted as directing him to work on the assumption that the crisis will continue until mid-2027.

Regarding the electricity file, the Prime Minister said: “We realize that the great efforts made to improve the continuity of electrical service did not prevent the two stations’ burning accident, which negatively affected the tangible improvements that were achieved before it occurred.”

The Prime Minister pledged to address the effects of the accident and correct the “structural imbalances” in the Mauritanian Electricity Company (Somalek), taking into account the recommendations of the independent investigation committee.

In the face of the global energy crisis, the Prime Minister pledged to review the mechanism for setting fuel prices to limit the reflection of international price fluctuations, and to continue capping the prices of wheat, rice, sugar, oil, and meat.

In the same context, he announced to compensate for the impact of inflation on civil and military employees and retirees with increases in wages and pensions, or with temporary financial support, and to call on social partners to urgent negotiations to raise workers’ wages, to temporarily cover a significant portion of the water and electricity bills for low-income families, to stabilize the prices of fodder and sell it at cost price when necessary, and to launch a broad program for digging pastoral wells.

Ould Ajay announced the launch of a path to prepare a national vision by 2060, “one hundred years after independence,” and to formulate a national development plan. He pledged to prepare a decree separating administrative positions, in which promotion is based on seniority and competence, from political positions, and to mobilize the government to keep pace with the national dialogue, which the president announced would be held soon.

He said that part of these procedures will be implemented immediately after gaining confidence, explaining that a detailed program will be presented to the Assembly at the end of next January.

The Algerian government launched urgent measures to control supply imbalances with potatoes and table oil, to avoid any popular tension, at a time when Prime Minister Sifi Gharib hinted during a ministerial meeting at the possibility of political backgrounds, or artificial speculation behind the crisis.

Inspection and monitoring agents affiliated with the directorates of the Ministry of Internal Trade in the states deployed today, Saturday, to wholesale markets for vegetables and fruits and retail food stores, for the purpose of investigating the causes of the scarcity of potatoes and table oil, in implementation of directives issued by the Prime Minister, on Thursday, during a meeting attended by the Minister of the Interior, Ibrahim Murad, the Minister of Internal Trade, Amal Abdel Latif, the Minister of Agriculture, Sayed Ali Khalidi, farmers’ representatives, and activists in the trade in foodstuffs of widespread consumption.

During his intervention, Seifi Gharib warned against what he called “attempts to manipulate the prices of consumer goods, or create scarcity in the markets and disrupt supply operations,” stressing that the government “will confront these practices with all available legal and regulatory means,” stressing that compromising the purchasing power of citizens will not be acceptable.”

These statements came in conjunction with the official launch of a new digital platform, dedicated to daily monitoring of the prices of basic materials and monitoring their availability across the various states of the country.

The Prime Minister warned of what he called “resistance to change,” which may face the implementation of these measures, adding that the economic operator who operates within a framework of transparency “will not find a reason to object to it,” stressing that “refraining from providing the required information, or obstructing the process, will result in him bearing responsibility,” and stressing that the state “will deal strictly with every attempt to obstruct this path.”

In markets and shops, potatoes, a staple food for low-income families, have become scarce in the markets for a few weeks. In several regions of the country, consumers are facing difficulty in finding this widely consumed item, at a time when the prices in circulation far exceed the ceiling set by the authorities.

At its beginning, the crisis witnessed a significant rise in prices in the wholesale and retail markets. Faced with this situation, the country's higher authorities intervened last October, in an attempt to contain prices and protect the purchasing power of families.

The measures taken included strengthening oversight at the wholesale and retail markets for vegetables and fruits, in addition to setting the maximum price for selling potatoes to the consumer at 90 dinars per kilogram, while the price today, Saturday, in some markets reached 170 dinars.

However, this intervention was followed by new difficulties at the level of marketing and distribution channels, as recorded inspections in several markets indicate that some wholesalers refused to market potatoes, according to the conditions imposed on them.

This situation caused a reduction in the quantities available through distribution channels, which made potatoes more difficult to obtain in several regions, while their prices remained high at the points of sale where this product is still available.

In the estimation of consumer defense associations, this crisis re-raises the issue of the effectiveness of market control mechanisms, especially when price ceiling measures are not accompanied by ensuring the provision of sufficient quantities of the product through various distribution channels. Some of these associations also denounced the practices of a number of merchants, who now require customers to purchase other types of vegetables in exchange for enabling them to buy potatoes.

Elias Siddiqui, a trader in the wholesale vegetable market in the Bougara region (40 km south of the capital), whom Asharq Al-Awsat met at the market, confirmed that restoring regular supply has become an urgent necessity to get out of the “potato crisis,” pointing out that the resumption of marketing operations by the various parties involved in marketing the potato product, and ensuring the availability of stocks in the markets, will have a decisive role in improving the situation in the coming days.

The “scarcity problem” has become more complicated, as the crisis of table oil scarcity in the Algerian markets continues for more than two weeks, amid a noticeable decline in the availability of this widely consumed substance in commercial stores, at a time when the intensity of the unrest has increased in recent days, and a complete interruption of supply in some areas, in exchange for the availability of limited quantities, which do not meet the needs of consumers in several other states.

This situation sparked a wave of interactions on social media, with Facebook users sharing video clips, photos and testimonials showing empty shelves and citizens facing difficulties in finding bottles and containers of table oil. This comes at a time when this substance occupies an essential place in the daily consumption of Algerian families.

In the face of the escalation of the supply crisis, the companies “Labal” and “Sem” issued two statements on Thursday confirming that their production units in Bejaia (east) and Oran (west) are operating at full capacity, and that production and supply are proceeding normally, without difficulties related to the availability of raw materials.

An investigation conducted by the “Maghreb Emergent” news platform confirmed that part of the supply disruptions are due to the decline in the production of the “Cevital” complex, which accounts for 50 percent of the table oil market, as its factory in Bejaia is currently operating at only about 50 percent of its production capacity, due to difficulties in maintaining equipment and production lines, linked to the restrictions of the “discretionary import program,” which was established by the Ministry of Foreign Trade.