Tunisia’s parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi said his country is still suffering from major development imbalances and deep “social gaps” nine years after the revolution.
He called for the need to change the development model in the country so that these gaps do not deepen and lead to the reemergence of the same unbalanced social system.
During the opening of a school day marking the sixth anniversary of the ratification of the new Tunisian constitution, Ghannouchi said the social situation threatens the democratic path in the country.
He cited high unemployment and the decline in services in the health, education, transportation and other government sectors, especially in marginalized regions compared to the coastal regions.
After the revolution, the state acknowledged the social and economic marginalization and sought to establish the principle of “positive discrimination” in favor of the poor areas, noted Ghannouchi, who head the Ennahda party.
However, he added, the gap has and still is deepening more as a result of the disruption of development, the lack of projects that provide job opportunities and the inability of the poor to access their share of wealth.
His remarks coincided with Prime Minister-designate Elyes Fakhfakh’s negotiations and the difficulties he has been facing, due to conditions imposed by political parties, to form a new government.
Several parties are exerting pressure on Fakhfakh to obtain certain portfolios, media reported.
Head of the Democratic Current Party Mohamed Abbou said Fakhfakh has refused to grant his party portfolios that would allow him to tackle “political corruption crimes.”
This hinders efforts to hold perpetrators accountable, he said, in reference to how the interior and justice portfolios were being kept from political parties.
The Democratic Current Party has demanded being granted the ministries of education, administrative reform, trade and finance, provided that it give up its demand for the justice portfolio.
