Tunisia: New Support for Communal Enterprises Appeals to Interior
Summary:
On 10 September 2024, the Secretary of State responsible for communal enterprises, Hasna Jaballah, announced that the Ministry of Employment and Professional Training will soon make monthly subsidies available to citizens to stimulate and accelerate the creation of communal enterprises. Communal enterprises are those which are typically operated by a local municipality with operations directed via direct engagement and input from the community.
This announcement followed a meeting organized with the directors of multiple communal enterprises from the cities of Kairouan, Monastir, Sidi Bouzid, Beja, Jendouba and Mahdia.
Later, on 12 September 2024, Jaballah led a series of additional meetings where she discussed the obstacles that face communal firms and the solutions to resolve them. She highlighted the importance that President Saied and the Prime Minister give to these firms.
These meetings were preceded by the President’s call on 9 September for the Ministry of State Domains and Land Affairs to review the legislative framework regarding the renting of state-owned lands and goods to citizens aspiring to create communal enterprises.
Outlook:
The development of communal enterprises is part of the bottom-up economic vision of the current administration which aims to support local residents in creating their own firms. However, results from these firms have been mixed with some struggling to launch while others lack financial means or face administrative obstacles.
This has led some observers to see these firms as nothing more than a part of the political program of President Saied as they are being presented as a magic-bullet solution to unemployment and under-development.
With the election approaching, the President is likely to continue focusing his dialogue on these firms through the Secretary of State charged with communal firms – a position he established in January 2024 – in order to appeal to Tunisian voters living in the interior.
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