24 June 2017
The Cabinet meeting held on Friday in Kasbah under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Youssef Chahed has approved a number of decrees and bills, said government spokesman Iyad Dahmani.

These are:
/ A draft law on the approval of a credit agreement signed on June 13, 2017 between the Republic of Tunisia and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) to finance the investment and business climate.
/ A bill to finance the construction of a water treatment plant in the Sahel and to increase the capacity of the treated water transfer channels.
/ A government bill on the creation of a new delegation to Beni Mhira (governorate of Tataouine).
/ A draft government decree on the establishment of a management unit by objectives in the Ministry of Industry and Trade to implement the national programme for the promotion of quality and productivity.
/ A draft government decree on the rules for the organisation, management and intervention of the Energy Transition Fund.
/ A draft government decree on the establishment of a management unit by objectives to carry out the integrated forest management project.
/ A draft government decree on the amendment of Decree No. 1935 of 1998 dated October 2,  1998 on the establishment of a national olive council.
/ A draft government decree on the establishment of a management unit by objectives to complete road infrastructure projects under Euro-Mediterranean co-operation with the contribution of the European Investment Bank (EIB).
/ A draft government decree concerning the amendment of Decree No. 318 of 2014 dated January 16, 2014 concerning the creation of a management unit by objectives for the construction of headquarters of Regional land ownership administrations in the governorates of Sidi Bouzid, Kairouan and Béja.
/ A draft government decree on the organisation of the construction of civil buildings.
/ A project relating to the organisation of the National Radiation Protection Centre and defining its prerogatives.

Iyad Dahmani said that the interior and defence ministers made presentations on the security situation in the country.

Minister of Development, Investment and International Co-operation, Fadhel Abdelkefi, gave a presentation on the development indicators and the economic situation in the country during the last period.

Dahmani stressed that the Prime Minister called on members of his government to continue the war on corruption, noting that Chahed said that "the war on corruption and terrorism must not lead us to overlook the development challenge that hinges on a better preparation of the 2018 budget ".

According to the government spokesman, state resources have increased by 18.1% in May 2017, compared to the same period of the previous year.

Own resources and tax revenues rose 6% and 15.8% respectively, while value added tax increased by 17.2%.

Development spending, in turn, grew 19.4% between May 2016 and May 2017.

As for inflation, it dropped to 4.8% in May 2017, against 5.4% in April of the same year.

The government spokesman said all these indicators are a positive sign of the revival of development in Tunisia.

In addition, he considered that the file of the Minister of Local Affairs and Environment (concerning the hiring of an adviser suspected of corruption), comes under the Prime Ministry).

Regarding the file of the Minister of Relations with Constitutional Institutions, Civil Society and Human Rights, Dahmani pointed out that there are no cases brought against him in court.

© Tunis-Afrique Presse 2017