TUNIS - The Cabinet meeting approved, on Wednesday, the Finance Bill for 2015, Government Spokesman and Minister in charge of Monitoring and Co-ordination of Economic Affairs Nidhal Ouerfelli said.
After the meeting, Ouerfelli added in a statement to TAP that the government will submit, on Friday, the draft finance law to the National Constituent Assembly (NCA) and will later be presented by the Minister of Finance at a press conference.
"It is the new House of People's Representatives that will discuss the finance bill for 2015 as the opening of its first sitting is scheduled for November 24, 2014," noted Ouerfelli.
He hoped that "the current government would not be forced to issue a specific decree for the first payment of 25% of the budget prior to its adoption."
The government spokesman also said the Cabinet meeting adopted three draft laws including the finance bill, an agreement with the European Patent Organisation, the amendment to the Outline Act No. 80 FOR 2002 related to education and schooling to establish a national end-of-primary-cycle exam and another at the end of basic education.
It also looked at 40 draft decrees and a set of appointments in senior civil positions.
The meeting also discussed a number of reports, including the report on the logistical and security preparation for the upcoming elections and the monitoring of the election campaign.
Ouerfelli recalled, in this context, that 4,535 primary schools will be made available to the Independent High Authority for the Elections (ISIE) from Friday, October 24. 34 thousand ISIE agents and 1,200 others from the civil society will be mobilised to monitor the elections.
Regarding election documents, he said 6.5 million papers have been printed in collaboration with the state printer, with a budget of 2 million dinars (MTD).
As to the election campaign financing, he noted that 6 million dinars have been paid under first installment of the public financing of legislative elections at home and abroad, i.e. 5.3 MTD at home and 0.7 MTD abroad.
Ouerfelli also said that an amount of 2.5 million dinars have been granted to the National Television under party election broadcast.
Another amount was paid to security forces mobilised to ensure the proper conduct of the elections, he added, noting that 80,000 officers will be mobilised to this end.
Regarding the audit of election campaign financing, he pointed to the co-ordination between the Ministry of Finance, the Court of Auditors and the Central Bank of Tunisia to well check and audit bank accounts of election lists.
Customs services have also been involved in this process to check possible financing from abroad, Ouerfelli said.
A presentation was made to the meeting on the "guillotine to administrative procedures," a programme designed, according to Ouerfelli, to simplify administrative procedures and targeting 270 procedures within the Ministry of Agriculture, Trade, Industry, Justice and State Property.
This programme also targets 446 procedures within the Ministry of Finance.
During the meeting, the Cabinet also focused on the health situation in Tunisia and preventive measures against the Ebola virus. The government spokesman said no case of Ebola has been recorded in Tunisia to date and that the Cabinet meeting has taken measures to ensure the monitoring of the health situation at the national and international levels.
© Tunis-Afrique Presse 2014
