The Corona pandemic has caused the widening of the deficit in the Tunisian budget due to the economic stagnation and increased spending at the expense of investment and development, which added to the confusion of financial balances at a time when the government prepares to introduce the budget bill for the next year.
According to "Reuters" agency, the Coronavirus crisis has led to the rise in Tunisia's budget deficit to 14 percent of GDP this year, double the original target and the highest level in nearly four decades.
Tunisia aims to reduce the deficit to 7.3 percent in 2021, and it also hopes that the economy will begin to recover from the effects of the crisis after a historic recession this year. Tunisia expects GDP growth of about 4 percent in the next year compared to expectations of a record contraction of 7 percent this year, according to the draft 2021 budget. Tunisia's economy shrank by 21.6 percent in the second quarter of 2020 compared to its level a year ago, as it was severely affected by the travel ban imposed to curb the spread of the Coronavirus.
In parallel, Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi revealed that the government has pumped $1.5 billion into state companies, as part of an attempt to reform the faltering sector, and it will provide a new batch of wage increases for state employees.
Source (Al-Arab Newspaper-London, Edited)
