For the fourth consecutive time, the examination of the summary procedure aimed at shutting down the polluting industrial units of the Tunisian Chemical Group (GCT) was adjourned, this time until December 25. One more postponement, which leaves an aftertaste of institutional helplessness in the face of one of the most explosive environmental issues in southern Tunisia.
Mounir Adouni, president of the regional section of the Bar Association, confirmed to TAP that the court had decided to broaden the scope of the case by integrating three new state actors: the Ministry of the Environment, the National Environmental Protection Agency (ANPE), and the Ministry of Health.
The decision is accompanied by a request to add new supporting documents, a gesture seen by some observers as an additional means of saving time, while the health and ecological consequences continue to worsen.
Citizen anger and environmental discontent
On the sidelines of this fourth hearing, several dozen citizens and civil society activists gathered in front of the Gabès court of first instance.
The demonstrators reiterated their demand for the outright dismantling of the incriminated units, denouncing persistent pollution which compromises the quality of life, public health and the ecological future of the region.
Their central demand is contained in one sentence: “The inhabitants of Gabès have the right to breathable air and a healthy environment”.
A file that gets bogged down
This new postponement reinforces the impression of a file which is moving backwards, to the rhythm of successive postponements which only fuel local frustration.
Faced with pollution that has been documented for decades, the inhabitants of Gabès are no longer waiting for procedures, but for concrete decisions – decisions that are slow in coming.
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