In November 2016, Tunis hosted an international conference, Tunisia 2020. Co-organised by the Tunisian, French and Qatari governments, its ambition was to garner from the “friendly countries” in attendance investment pledges for projects contributing to growth and job creation as well as significant financial support. The problem is that the promised financial support appears never to have been forthcoming, and the Tunisian government has been obliged to go into debt on the financial markets. This situation has prompted several observers to wonder publicly: “Where are Tunisia’s friends?”
IMF’s structural reforms in action!
We all work for the IMF now. And if you haven’t realized that yet, I urge you to wake up to your new condition so you will not be caught unprepared. The sooner we all realize that, the smaller (hopefully!) the shock will be.
Credit Agencies: The arrogance of failure
First of all, the failure of the rating agencies before the subprime crisis is complete and total. That’s an undeniable fact and the huge effort that those agencies are making to restore their credibility will not, in any way, change that fact. And you should not listen to anyone who is telling you otherwise even if that person is Patrick Raleig.
Tunisia and the IMF: A Beggar State and an Impoverished People
It is important to note that since 2012 until the present day, the country has accumulated about ten million dollars in debt. In this vicious cycle where a debt is used to pay another debt, it is important to ask the following questions: Where will this debt take us? Where does the money go? Are the government’s cessions sufficient?