The Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT) is not independent of the state or the government in matters of monetary policy, said organisation "Alert", which specialises in fight against rent economy. It believes that this fact confirms the state of controversy on the national scene on the question of the limits of the BCT's independence and supports the positions expressed by the President of the Republic on this concept of independence. In a note published on Tuesday, "Alert" points out that the debate on the independence of the BCT expresses a contradictory approach, especially as the composition of the Executive Board of the Bank shows that 6 of its 9 members are appointed by government decree after examination by a Cabinet meeting. According to Alert, the BCT is not independent of the government, as 2/3 of its executive board members are appointed by the government. The BCT's executive of directors is composed of the governor, the deputy governor, the chairman of the Financial Market Council, the executive in charge of public debt management at the Ministry of Finance, the executive in charge of forecasting at the Ministry of Economic Development, two university professors specialising in finance and economics appointed by government decree after deliberation by the Cabinet of meeting on the proposal of the governor and after consultation with the Minister of Higher Education, and two members who have previously worked in a bank and have at least 10 years' experience in banking or finance. These two members are appointed by government decree, the first on a proposal from the Governor and the second on a proposal from the President of the Tunisian Professional Association of Banks and Financial Institutions. According to the organisation, the composition of the BCT's board corroborates its view that the CenBank is independent. "The BCT is not independent of the government, as the government appoints two-thirds of the board," says Alert. It also called for an end to "the BCT's contradictory financial policy, which, on the one hand, hampers the economy and the citizens by applying excessive interest rates and, on the other hand, does not make it possible to control the public debt through the automatic refinancing of treasury bills." During his visit to the headquarters of the BCT on September 8, 2023, the President of the Republic called for a revision of article 25 of the statutes of the Central Bank, published in 2016. "The main role of the BCT has been to control inflation. However, it is necessary to improve and develop the legal texts so that the bank can play its role to the full, as an autonomous public institution, but not independent of the State," said the Head of State. He added that "we must distinguish between monetary independence and budgetary independence". Saied also said that the provisions of the 1958 law were better than those of 2016, which he said serve the interests of commercial banks. "The autonomy of the central bank does not mean independence the state," he said.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse