Day: February 1, 2024

The weather Thursday is locally misty in the morning, then temporarily cloudy in most regions, getting gradually very cloudy in the north with scattered showeres at the end of the night. The wind is blowing west relatively strong over coasts and light to moderate elsewhere, getting stronger in the afternoon over northern coasts and in the gulf of Hammamet during the night. The sea is rough to very choppy in the north and in the gulf of Hammamet. Highs are ranging between 15 and 19°C, hovering over 12°C on western heights. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Anyone who has tried to jeopardise the National Cellulose and Esparto Paper Company (SNCPA) shall be held to account and we shall never again accept, for any reason whatsoever, the sale of our public establishments and companies," said President of the Republic Kais Saïed during his unannounced visit to the company's headquarters on Wednesday. During his meeting with the company's managers and employees, the Head of State discussed a number of corruption cases, according to a Presidency of the Republic press release issued at dawn on Thursday. Visiting the company's various departments, Saïed pointed out the numerous failings and shortcomings recorded from 2000 to 2011, opening the way for lobbies to sell the company, which had not only been meeting the needs of the Tunisian market but also exporting its products to several countries. The President of the Republic, who then went to the Majel Bel Abbès delegation, met a group of citizens. He listened to their concerns, underlining the need for each offici al to "assume their responsibilities, according to their sector of activity." The Head of State then headed for Oum Laksab in the governorates of Kasserine and Gafsa, where he listened to the concerns of citizens and the obstacles encountered, notably in the transport, health and other sectors. Kaies Saied called on citizens to take the initiative in setting up communitarian companies, notably after the creation of a State secretariat to facilitate the formation of this new type of company. He underscored on the occasion, the skills of Tunisian citizens, who are capable, he affirmed, of creating wealth that will certainly have a positive impact on the country as a whole. The Head of State further added that the people's demands can only be met through the new legislation that stems from their will, as well as through the cleansing of the country of the corrupt both at the level of State structures and at other levels. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

An earth tremor measuring 3.4 degrees on the Richter scale was recorded on Thursday February 1, 2024 at 8.02 am (local time) in the Gulf of Gabès, the National Institute of Meteorology (INM) announced. The epicentre of the tremor was located at 34.11 degrees latitude and 10.21 degrees longitude, north-east of the Ghannouch region (Gabès governorate), according to preliminary analyses carried out by the INM's seismological stations. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

We never said the private sector must not operate in Tunisia," said President of the Republic Kais Saïed as he made an unannounced visit Wednesday to the headquarters of the National Cellulose and Esparto Paper Company (French: SNCPA) "We need to safeguard public enterprises which have to remain the property of the State and the Tunisian people," he added. Saied reviewed, as he met with some employees, a number of corruption files over the last two decades, a video released at dawn by the Presidency of the Republic showed, before touring the plant. Staff members shed light on maintenance failures, the purchase of noncompliant equipment and recruitment breaches. The President said public enterprises will not be privatised but need to be reorganised. Reacting to comments by a local man of Majel Bel Abbès, as he visited the governorate of Kasserine, Saïed said communitarian companies are endowed with a mechanism of assistance geared towards women collecting esparto and to support the agricultutral sector. S NCPA is a public enterprise created in 1980 after the merger of two companies which make up the industrial complex of Kasserine. They are the National Company of Cellulose set up in 1956 specialised in manufacturing esparto pulp and the national company of esparto paper created in 1968. SNCPA employs 897 staff members and contributes to job generation for nearly 6,000 households in Kasserine, Gafsa , Sidi Bouzid and Kairouan through its collection centres. The company's activity in Kasserine has ground to a halt for three years following the purchase of a TND 6.5 million defective thermal boiler from a Turkish company. Activity resumed on October 14, 2022, after the repair of the boiler before it was brought again to a standstill over the scarcity of raw materials for manufacturing paper (wood pulp) after producing 1, 540 tonnes of paper. In April 2023, the company resumed activity after being supplied with a quantity of raw materials. The SNCPA has failed since 2020 to supply printing works with paper fo r printing textbooks as a result of the suspension of activity. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

The government is called upon to repay the sum of 3,000 million dinars for bond loans issued on the international market in February 2017, said Finance Minister Sihem Namsia during a hearing session held on Wednesday by the parliamentary Finance and Budget Committee. During the session dedicated to "the draft law exceptionally authorising the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT) to grant facilities to the Treasury", the minister explained that the recourse to the BCT is intended to finance this debt, which is due on February 16. The bill will allow the issuing institution to grant advances to the government if necessary, she added. According to the minister, Tunisia will have to repay a public debt of nearly 25,797 million dinars in 2024, including 7,111 million dinars in the first quarter of 2024, knowing that the state's financing needs amount to 28,188 million dinars. "Despite these constraints, Tunisia is determined to fulfil its commitments before the deadline. It will rely on its own resources in order to preserve its national sovereignty," said Namsia, adding that discussions are underway with donors "but may not lead to a result in the first quarter of 2024". The minister emphasised that her government was finding it difficult to raise foreign financial resources, but that it was determined to diversify its sources of funding while respecting the law. During the hearing, which was also attended by the governor of the BCT, deputies stressed the importance of finding other financing alternatives, namely the promotion of value-added investments, the restructuring of the phosphate sector in Tunisia, the integration of the informal sector into the formal economy and the amendment of the foreign exchange law. On the other hand, the deputies warned against the negative impact of this draft law on the purchasing power of Tunisians and on inflation. At the end of the session, the parliamentary committee decided to continue examining the draft law, which was approved by the Cabinet on January 25. This draft provi des for the approval of an exceptional authorisation for the BCT to grant loans to the Treasury of 7 billion dinars, repayable over a period of 10 years without interest and with a three-year grace period. This amount will be used to finance part of the budget deficit for the 2024 financial year. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

The average money market rate (MMR) decreased slightly to 7.98% in January 2024, compared to 7.99% in October, November and December 2023, according to data published by the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT) on Thursday. Year-on-year, the MMR has risen over the last four years, from 6.15% in January 2021 to 6.19% in January 2022, 7.96% in January 2023 and 7.98% in January 2024. The BCT's Executive Board had decided at its last meeting in December 2023 to keep the Bank's interest rate unchanged at 8%. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

The stock market saw a (-0.4%) decline during Thursday's session, closing at 8386.7 points. Since the beginning of the year, the Tunindex accumulated an underperformance of -4.2%. Trading activity was subdued during the session, totalling TND 2.3 million, as reported by broker Tunisie Valeurs. Tuninvest took the lead in gains, with its shares showing a notable increase. In a meagre volume of a thousand dinars, the SICAR's stock appreciated by 4.5% to reach TND 9.820. SOTUMAG demonstrated a strong performance in the session. The shares of the wholesale market manager in Bir El Kassaa recorded a rise of 3.1% to TND 5.250. The public company recently issued a statement announcing the appointment of Sofiene Tarmiz as the new Chief Executive Officer of SOTUMAG. BIAT rebounded during the session, recovering all the lost ground from the previous day's trading. The stock of the leading player in the banking sector increased by 1%, to TND 90. Being the most sought-after stock of the session, BIAT mobilised capital of TND 426,000. Delice Holding found itself at the bottom of the Tunindex. The shares of the national champion in dairy products declined by 4.6% to TND 10.500. Trading on the stock was modest, amounting to TND 80,000. DH started the year on a sour note, losing 6% of its value in the stock market in January 2024. The decline continues for TELNET's stock; the shares of the specialist in engineering and technology consulting bent by 3% to TND 5.800. The value accumulated trades worth TND 88,000 during the session. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

They bulldozed my house and destroyed my olive, fruit and citrus trees," says Mounir Hamouda ChaSt, an employee of the Gaza Municipality, who was displaced and made homeless after his house was completely destroyed by massive bombardments by the Zionist army. The Zionist army has been waging an asymmetric war against the people of Gaza for almost four months. Condemned last week by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for "a real and imminent risk of genocide,' the Jewish state, which has always disregarded the rules of international law and all UN resolutions (since its creation), continues its barbaric acts against nature and living beings in both Gaza and the West Bank. According to environmental activists, NGOs and testimonies from Palestinian civilians, its criminal actions began well before October 7, 2023, the date on which the current war broke out. The pace of aggression has particularly accelerated during the current war. Hundreds of videos show Israeli tanks and bulldozers raiding farmland in Gaza, uprooting trees, destroying crops and infrastructure, leaving behind polluted water, air and soil and an uninhabitable environment. Environmental crime: Olive groves the first victims Mounir, who lived with his wife and five children in the Tel al-Hawa neighbourhood in southern Gaza City, had hoped to find refuge in his second home in the middle of his farmland in Khan Younes. "Unfortunately, it too has been completely destroyed," he said with regret. "The occupiers' bulldozers razed everything to the ground and destroyed my fruit trees," he repeated in a telephone call to TAP. Accompanied by his son, amidst the rubble and the remains of olive trees, he was keen to film and photograph what remained of his farm in a savagely denatured landscape and a destroyed plantation. In Gaza, where the Zionist army's attacks have killed more than 26,000 people in just two months, most of them children and women, several videos document live the relentless attack by Israeli soldiers on olive groves in particul ar, the emblematic family heritage of Palestine. Since 1967, Israeli soldiers and 'settlers' in occupied Palestine have destroyed 800,000 olive trees in an attempt to force Palestinian farmers off their land, writes Megan Perry, quoted by Theecologist.org. Nidhal Atallah, coordinator of the Environmental Justice Programme at the Heinrich Böll Foundation - Palestine and Jordan, in Ramallah, says that "all the factors for ecocide are present, especially as the term well defines environmental damage that affects ecosystems, animal and plant species, and thus the human communities that depend on them". "In addition to dropping thousands of tonnes of bombs and explosives with devastating effects on the environment, the occupation has been waging a war on water and thirsty Palestinians for decades. Contacted by telephone by TAP news agency, Atallah said "the occupation is using a systematic and immoral tactic to cut off and pollute water sources, not only in Gaza but also in the West Bank". He continued: "The Zionist army has always deliberately destroyed the land in the eastern zones and around Gaza, which is the 'breadbasket' of the population. Palestinian farmers have had to endure this kind of vandalism for 17 years, in addition to the illegal blockade imposed by the occupier". Several Palestinian organisations have documented all the environmental damage since the 2014 war, which lasted more than 50 days. "But in my opinion, the current war is by far the cruelest. The occupation army has used all kinds of toxic chemicals, including white phosphorus, which has had a catastrophic impact on the environment," adds Atallah. Disastrous situation in the water sector According to Atallah, the water sector is the worst affected and the situation in the invaded strip is catastrophic. "Tons of concrete rubble containing cement and heavy metals, mixed with rainwater and sewage, are contaminating water sources and destroying the entire water infrastructure. A note by Razan Zuayter, chairperson of the board of the Arab Group for the Protection of Nature revealed that "Zionist attacks take many forms, including the burning of orchards and buildings, the uprooting of trees, and the theft and destruction of crops, equipment and fodder. Zionist bulldozers continue to raze Palestinian land and infrastructure to make way for 13,000 new settlements, "The losses resulting from the barbaric attacks on Palestinian agriculture during the period from October 7 to December 1, 2023 are estimated at $22,585 million. 95% of these losses are in the olive sector," added Zuayter, who is also co-founder of the Arab Network for Food Sovereignty and a member of the Subcommittee for the Eradication of Hunger in the Arab Region The agricultural sector, which is of particular importance to the Palestinian people, has been targeted and devastated by the war and the crimes of ecocide. "The army and settlers have prevented the harvesting of 1,977,615 olive trees, causing the Palestinian economy in the West Bank alone to lose more than $11 million ( $11,541,740), or 51% of the losses in the Palestinian agricultural sector, in less than two months. The pace of attacks intensified during the harvest season in 2023". A Palestinian farmer, Bilel Salah, from the village of Al-Sawia in the West Bank district of Nablus, was killed as he went to his land to harvest olives," the Zuaytar note said. Food, a weapon of war against the Palestinians "Despite all the plans to displace the Palestinian population and steal their land, the Palestinian farmers have held out and opened the harvest season. Their resistance inspires us and gives us the strength to continue our campaign within the Arab Group for the Protection of Nature to support the resistance in Gaza and expose the crimes of the occupier and its intention to use food as a weapon of war against Palestinian civilians," she wrote. "We are continuing our 1 million trees campaign in Palestine. We have now planted 3 million fruit trees in the four corners of Palestine. Every square inch of Palestine is importa nt to us, and every tree planted will be there to welcome us the day we return," writes Razan Zuaytar. The Zionist army, which is constantly waging wars in Palestine and Lebanon, as well as raids in Syria, is constantly committing crimes against nature, according to Palestinian environmental activists, including Nidhal Atallah. Documenting these crimes, as well as those against human beings, is now essential if justice is to be done to the Palestinian people and to nature, says Nidhal Atallah. "This is the first genocide in which the victims document their own destruction live. Gaza is a moral failure. The world should be ashamed," declared Adila Hassim, Pretoria's chief representative in The Hague, as she presented her case against Israel for "genocide" in Gaza to the ICJ. South Africa has filed a complaint against Israel for genocide in Gaza and referred the matter to the International Court of Justice for this crime against humanity. On Friday, January 26, 2024, the court called for Palestinians to be p rotected from a "real and imminent threat" of genocide. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

The loan of 3,000 million dinars that the government intends to contract with the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT) will not exacerbate inflation yet it will decrease foreign currency reserves by 14 days of import, said Governor of the Central Bank of Tunisia Marouane Abassi during a parliamentary committee hearing held Wednesday. «This loan will have an impact on the exchange rate,» he added. During this hearing session dedicated to the review of the bill exceptionally authorising the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT) to grant facilities for the Treasury, Abassi stressed that this loan remains cyclical, noting that the facilities granted by the BCT, for 2020, were mainly earmarked to consumption, which favored inflation. While recognising that the repayment of debts is one of the attributes of national sovereignty and helps to strengthen investor confidence, the BCT governor insisted on investment as an "effective" solution even to create wealth. «The current situation remains difficult due to the high debt rat es and the low growth rate,» he pointed out, pointing to other factors behind this crisis, including lower investment and savings and higher imports which led to a deficit in the balance of payments. Despite this, the foreign exchange reserves cover 118 days of imports, he added. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse