(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Tunisia plans to hold a donor conference as it seeks to mobilise aid to revive an economy battered by terrorist attacks and contain mounting anger over unemployment.
The government is preparing a five-year economic plan it hopes to present to parliament in March that will include policies to tackle unemployment and regional disparities, issues that helped sparked nationwide protests, Employment Minister Zied Ladhari said in an interview. An international conference will follow later in the year, where Tunisia will pitch for aid, loans with concessions, as well as public and private partnerships, he said.
Authorities have been quick to douse the recent unrest, which was triggered by the apparent suicide of a graduate who failed to secure a government job and evoked similar demonstrations that escalated into a national uprising five years ago, and eventually, the Arab Spring. Further sporadic violence is likely if the government fails to boost growth and lower unemployment, the Eurasia Group said in an e-mailed note last week.
"After the revolution, Tunisia made remarkable progress in terms of the political process," Ladhari said. But "we are aware that on the economic and social front, we have major challenges and high expectations from the people."
Tunisia is also in talks with the International Monetary Fund, and Prime Minister Habib Essid said at Davos the negotiations would likely yield results by April, without giving details. The amount sought won't be less than $1.7bn, Tunisia's central bank governor has said.
Lack of jobs was a key reason cited for the recent protests - a nationwide curfew imposed on January 22 was eased last week. Overall unemployment is about 15%, compared with 13% before the 2011 uprising. The figure rises to 32% for university graduates and 31% for people aged 15 to 24.
Challenges include a mismatch between what schools and universities teach and the skills required by the labour market, Ladhari said. A ministry stop-gap programme, which began last Tuesday, aims to prepare job-seekers for the labour market, initially focusing on 50,000 of the most poor or vulnerable in places like Kasserine, where the recent unrest began.
Another is the government's inability to meet graduate demand for public service jobs, he said. About 770,000 people are already employed by the state, or 23% of the national total. About a third of Tunisia's 612,000 unemployed went to university, with about 60,000 new graduates joining the workforce every year.
The ministry is facilitating loans for people starting new businesses, with an emphasis on the digital economy, Ladhari said. It offered nearly $60mn in 2015 and about 11,000 loans were awarded. This year, it has $75mn to disburse.
"The state can't absorb them, we are saturated," said Ladhari. "It's not a reflex to create a business, you have to explain, promote success stories, talk more about incentives, loans etc., so important work has to be done to promote this new culture. There is a change in the role of the state."
The central bank, which conducted limited monetary easing last year, forecasts growth will rise to 2.5% this year from 0.5% in 2015.
The government is also preparing a new investment law it hopes will be ready late next month to boost Tunisia's attractiveness, including more flexibility over money transfers, Development Minister Yassin Ibrahim said in an interview last Wednesday.
Much will depend on Tunisia's tourism industry, which accounts for about 7% of economic output and employs 15% of the workforce, according to the IMF. Visitor numbers plummeted following the terrorist attacks last year.
"People thought that after the revolution everything would be fixed, but there's a distinction between living in a democratic country and living in a prosperous one," Ladhari said. "It's up to our people to work, innovate and create - we are trying to act as enablers, facilitators."
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