Tunisia’s Saied sacks PM Bouden, as economic crisis worsens

Sara Rashad

Tunisian President, Kais Saied, sacked Prime Minister Najla Bouden, on Tuesday, even without giving reasons for his decision.

The Tunisian leader appointed Ahmed Hachani in Bouden’s stead, according to a televised statement by the Tunisian presidency.

President Saied asked the new premier to work hard to address the great challenges facing Tunisia and preserve the Tunisian state.

The unprovoked decision comes in the light of tough economic conditions in Tunisia.

These conditions have resulted in the disappearance of basic goods from the markets for months.

Consumer inflation also keeps rising, amid unrelenting power cuts across Tunisia.

President Saied described bread a few days ago as a ‘red line’ for Tunisians.

He expressed fears of a repetition of the bread crisis that claimed the lives of 150 people in 1984 during the reign of the late Tunisian leader Habib Bourguiba.

Meanwhile, there is a dearth of information about Hachani. Tunisian media described him as a ‘little known figure’.

He studied law and worked at the Central Bank of Tunisia for some time.

President Saied talked about the challenges the new premier is expected to address.

“There are great challenges that we must face with firm determination and a strong will to preserve our homeland, our state and civil peace,” President Saied.

Frequent changes

The change of prime minister in Tunisia is not the first to happen in the North African state.

President Saied reshuffled his country’s cabinet a number of times in the past years.

Tunisian media attributed these reshuffles to the failure of some ministers in handling some ministerial portfolios.

Tunisian politician, Kais Ben Yahmed, considered the change of prime minister as a limited move.

The move, he said, was limited to the prime minister.

“The performance of the sacked prime minister was far from satisfactory,” Ben Yahmed told The Reference.

He added that this was especially true at the economic and social levels.

Ben Yahmed noted that the change of prime minister aimed to introduce greater dynamism to the economy, especially since the new prime minister is a technocrat and a financial expert at the Central Bank.