The Council of World Bank Administrators approved, this Thursday, July 24, of funding of $ 300 million, in favor of a program intended to improve the performance and governance of Tunisian municipalities.
The first step in supporting the process of decentralization in Tunisia, a national priority, this program aims to provide municipalities to make decisions, strengthen their capacity to provide services and make them more responsible for the seven million Tunisians (70 % of the total population) who reside in the city.
According to a BM press release, “the urban development and local governance program concerns the 264 Tunisian municipalities and supports the government’s municipal investment plan for 2014-2019. Although they are different sizes, Tunisian municipalities have similar characteristics, namely: limited decision -making power, lack of funding, deficit in management means, low participation in local development and distant relationships with the population. ”
These weaknesses translate, according to the World Bank, by “a poor execution of municipal functions and a constant degradation of the quality of the services. The problem arises with more acuity in the municipalities of disadvantaged regions. For all the inhabitants of this very urbanized country, this is explained by the lack of responsibility of the public authorities ”.
The program having to concern the 264 municipalities of the country will act at three levels according to the World Bank:
Improving the fund transfer system by the central government and the launch of development activities for institutions and capacities focused on demand, in order to improve municipal infrastructure and services in accordance with the priorities made by citizens
The implementation of measures to strengthen the knowledge and capacities of advisers and municipal staff around participatory governance initiatives, in order to underlie more general efforts to improve municipal performance and implement new social contracts between citizens and local authorities
The strengthening of the participation of local populations, in particular women and young people, in the planning of development activities managed by the municipality at the local level, in order to guarantee the satisfaction of the needs of all population groups and, in doing so, to ensure the commitment of citizens to the service of sustainable stability
Particular attention will be paid to 500,000 Tunisians living in disadvantaged areas, especially where economic outlets are more limited and the rate of development slower than in the rest of the country. The program has identified 229 disadvantaged districts which will benefit from the following measures:
The improvement of local services by giving municipalities the means to finance the renovation of informal and disadvantaged neighborhoods
Direct participation of the population in the definition of investment priorities (public lighting or sidewalks in particular) in order to respond to the demands of women living in these districts
The creation of temporary jobs thanks to the activities funded by the project and which will specifically target the many young unemployed people living in these districts
The urban development and local governance program is included in a financial envelope of $ 1.2 billion, announced by the president of the World Bank group, Jim Yong Kim, in favor of Tunisia in 2014, is four times more than the total aid granted to Tunisia by the bank during the period preceding the revolution and twice as it has received since then.
