Public enterprises: A “heavy burden” for the State, according to the Minister of the Economy

During the plenary session devoted to the state budget and the economic budget for 2026, the Minister of Economy and Planning, Samir Abdelhafidh, sounded the alarm on the situation of public companies, deeming their reform “urgent and essential”, reports the TAP agency.

A call for reform of public giants

The minister estimated that several national companies, once symbols of success, have today become “a heavy burden for the State”. Among them, the Compagnie des Phosphates de Gafsa (CPG), the Société Tunisienne de l’Electricite et du Gaz (STEG) and the Cereal Office, all facing structural difficulties and declining productivity.

According to Samir Abdelhafidh, the situation of these establishments can no longer be ignored: “Their weight on public finances has become unsustainable. Their recovery requires a complete overhaul of management methods, based on transparency, performance and responsibility.”

National financing and sovereign independence

While defending the government’s decision to use the Central Bank of Tunisia to partially finance the national budget, the minister explained that this orientation aims to mobilize internal resources and preserve the independence of sovereign decision-making.

“The choice of financing is above all political: it is a question of guaranteeing Tunisia its freedom of economic decision,” he insisted.

Samir Abdelhafidh also highlighted several positive signals, notably an increase of more than 20% in foreign investments, the control of the budget deficit and the drop in the inflation rate to 4.9%. So many elements which, according to him, reflect “a gradual improvement in the economic situation”.

Concerning the labor market, the minister announced incentive measures to encourage the recruitment of higher education graduates in the private sector. He also recalled that several legislative reforms are in preparation – notably the foreign exchange, forestry and investment codes – in order to provide a legal framework more conducive to the recovery and modernization of the economy.

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