Tunisia’s Ennahda group manipulates distribution of social aid to benefit of families

The efforts of the Tunisian Ennahda movement – the arm of the Brotherhood in the country – have not stopped exploiting the spread of coronavirus in the country politically, as the movement hovers suspicions of corruption regarding the distribution of social assistance.

On Friday, April 24, 2020, the Tunisian presidential spokeswoman, Rachida El-Nefer, revealed that there has been fraud in the distribution of social assistance, which supports suspicions of interference by influential political parties in determining the direction of this aid.

“The distribution of social assistance has been tampered with, which prompted Tunisian President Qais Saeed to supervise himself on the distribution of aid in a number of regions,” the presidential spokesperson said in statements to local media.

For his part, the leader of the Nidaa Tunis movement, Manji Harbawi, accused local officials affiliated with Ennahdha for their involvement in providing financial aid to families known to be loyal to the movement.

Tunisian activists and media have also accused a number of Ennahda leaders, of exerting pressure on government officials assigned to determine the destination of social assistance, amounting to the threat of their dismissal.

According to Tunisian media, the leader of the Ennahda movement and the head of its bloc in parliament, Noureddine Al-Behairi, threatened to dismiss Fushhana Governor Afif Zwenich (a local official) from his post because of his refusal to oversee the movement to distribute government aid. Originally, the distribution of this aid is one of the tasks of the governor.

According to Tunisian law, the local government official, exclusively, should assume the supervision of the distribution of social assistance to his perspective in his department; and that any interference in his affairs is a suspicion of corruption punishable by law.

On the other hand, Tunisian journalist Manji Al-Khadrawi revealed that a member of the Ennahda movement, Mahrezia Al-Obeidi, intervened on behalf of a monopolist belonging to her party in the governorate of Nabeul, after he was fined by the Economic Control Team of the Ministry of Trade for monopolizing foodstuffs, while the country suffers from a shortage With basic materials supported.