“We do not have confidence in the State”, “we do not trust the Tunisian authorities”, “we have confidence in a person” … These sentences are said today in front of a Tunisian state official, something impossible to imagine before 2011. Daring to look in front of a man of power and speak to him of an equal equal is a real change in relations between the citizen, tired by electoral promises and the state.
Faced with the new head of government Habib Essid who visited this Tuesday, February 24, at the hospital in Fernana, the governorate of Jendouba, a city in the northwest of Tunisia located 154 kilometers from Tunis, a pharmacist said to him: “I no longer have confidence”.
Arrested, Mr. Essid replied: “What does that mean you no longer have confidence?” »»
-The pharmacist: “I no longer trust! »»
-He: “In whom? »»
-The pharmacist: “In general, in our region, we no longer have confidence, in person! »»
-He: “And we came here …”
-The pharmacist: “Welcome! But I hope that you will be trustworthy and that you are concerned about what people in this region feel. No one worries about us! »»
-He: “I too am the son of this region. There is no region, Tunisia is our country, everywhere. We are all Tunisians. This is why we are victorious in front … This is my country ”replies Mr. Essid.
-The pharmacist: “It’s my country too. »»
Mr. Essid’s surprise visit aimed to inspect the inventory of the hospital. MP Faycel Tebbini, “the farmer’s voice,” said the governor of Jendouba later, was informed of the visit.
Regional disparities in Tunisia
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“Nearly two decades, after the liberalization of the Tunisian economy, regional disparities have increased sharply. The wide differences in development between the regions of the coastline and the interior are indicative of great heterogeneity in terms of income levels, growth, unemployment, distribution between strong and low productivity and poverty activities. If the coastal regions are part of the competitiveness axis and constitute the center of the flagship branches of the Tunisian industry, the other regions of the interior have fewer strategic skills and display average, even low performance. »»
On the regional level, Tunisia has adopted several development policies and strategies in order to reduce the disparities between coastal regions and interior rebels. However, an observation of ineffectiveness of these different policies is obvious. The response of the public authorities through the programs implemented, fished by a deficit of coherence and in particular of a structuring global vision between the different regions of the country. Regional disparities still remain manifestly important and blatant, which suggests in the absence of an optimal regional development scheme. Nevertheless, this absence is not synonymous with inexistence of regional development policies. Several economic actions have been undertaken at the regional level, some of which are purely proactive and others are part of a relatively clear vision aimed at establishing a regional development strategy.
Extracts from the doctoral thesis of Faycel Zidi “Economic policies and regional disparities in Tunisia: an analysis in general microphone balance”.
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