Tunisian President Wants To Take Action Against Corruption
After the government was disempowered, Tunisian President Kais Saied wants to take action against corruption in his own words.
Tunis- At a meeting with the UTICA union yesterday, Saied hinted that crackdowns on corruption cases were imminent but said there was “no intention of harming or abusing business people”. 460 people stole 13.5 billion dinars (around 4.1 billion euros) from Tunisia, the president complained.
Saied, a former law professor who took office in 2019 with a campaign against corruption, said he was offering a “criminal settlement” if they would return the money “instead of being prosecuted and imprisoned. Yesterday he deposed the head of state television, Mohammed al-Dahach, and appointed an interim director, the president’s office announced.
Saied surprisingly ousted Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi on Sunday and imposed a night curfew. The country’s most important parties, including the Islamic conservative Ennahda party, spoke of a coup. In his own words, the president wants to break the political blockade in the country and appoint a new head of government within 30 days.
