In his first comment on the economy since exercising emergency powers to grab control of the government late Sunday, Tunisian President Kais Saied warned on Wednesday that “poor economic choices” had produced serious financial problems.
In a video published by the presidency, Saied gave a humbling speech to the leader of the Tunisian Union of Industry, Trade, and Handicrafts (UTICA), a business union.
UTICA, which was founded in 1947, represents over 150,000 private firms in Tunisia, with the exception of tourism, banking, and financial services. Small and medium-sized businesses make up the majority of these businesses.
There are almost 25,000 union officials in the confederation.
Tunisia’s leader said that 460 persons had stolen 13.5 billion dinars ($4.8 billion) from the country and threatened them with “penalties.”
“I propose a penal reconciliation with businessmen involved in looting the people’s money and tax evasion in exchange for their commitment to projects … instead of being prosecuted and imprisoned,” said Saied, a former law professor who came to office in 2019 campaigning against corruption and an entrenched political elite.
The president did not elaborate on his proposal.
When Saied took control of the government on Sunday – a move described by opponents as a coup – he also said that he would take over public prosecutions and strip members of parliament of their immunity.
Before Saied’s move on Sunday, economic stagnation had contributed to growing public resentment, with successive governments caught between dueling demands of foreign lenders and a powerful labor union.
The president also urged on traders to lower prices and warned them not to hoard goods or speculate during his meeting with UTICA’s director, Samir Majoul, stressing that breaches would be prosecuted.
Tunisian bond prices fell substantially on Monday as a result of his announcement.
