UTICA 3
Politics Vanessa Szakal 03 March 2017

Chahed courts the IMF, Tunisian General Labor Union defiant

On February 25, Youssef Chahed announced the appointment of new heads to several ministries. The UGTT lost not a minute in denouncing what it called a politically-driven and unilateral decision to replace Abid Briki, former UGTT Under Secretary General, with Khalil Ghariani, head of social affairs for the UTICA, as Minister of Public Service. In a statement published on February 26, the UGTT deemed the move a deliberate provocation, and made in the interest of unblocking the second installment of a $2.9 billion loan from the IMF. The conflict, which culminated in Ghariani’s refusal to accept the nomination and the subsequent suspension of the Ministry of Public Service on March 2, is the most recent flare-up in the tenuous relationship between the current government and country’s largest workers union.

Society Vanessa Szakal 05 July 2014

Tunisia : The Holy Month of Ramadan – Pockets Empty, Dumpsters Full

Ramadan this year began on Sunday, June 29 and articles are rife with discouraging statistics on the inflation and warnings against over-consumption and waste of foodstuffs purchased in over-abundance. With food, water, electricity, and gas prices already on the rise, the expenses associated with the holy month of fasting compound what is an already unbearable economic burden for many Tunisians.

Networks Vanessa Szakal 17 June 2014

Inciting Local and Foreign Investment in Tunisia’s ICT Sector

n Tunisia, the prominent actors and agents of democratic transition and the national media landscape that are so often the topics of Nawaat’s investigations—including the ATI, the ATT, the HAICA, whistleblowing platforms, freedom of expression and the right to information, transparency, the engagement of civil society—are also the foundation and driving forces (along with several important institutions mentioned below) of the vast and dynamic realm of Information and Communication Technologies.