TUNIS, March 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Tunisian President Kais Saied dismissed Prime Minister Kamel Madouri overnight Thursday, a statement from his office said, as the country grapples with major economic issues.
Madouri, a technocrat appointed only last August during a major cabinet reshuffle, is replaced by Sarra Zaafrani Zenzri, formerly the minister of public works, an official announcement said.
Saied has expressed dissatisfaction in recent weeks with the government’s performance.
Deeply indebted Tunisia is mired in serious economic and financial difficulty with sluggish growth and high unemployment.
The president, who has full powers to dismiss ministers and judges, appointed Madouri premier in August 2024.
At the time he also replaced 19 other ministers, justifying his decision by citing “the supreme interest of the state” and “national security” imperatives.
This latest reshuffle comes in a tense political climate, with dozens of opponents imprisoned, some for two years, as well as businessmen and media figures.
Saied became president in 2019, and Tunisia was the only democracy to emerge from the Arab Spring.
He staged a sweeping power grab in 2021, which critics say kicked off a backsliding of democratic freedoms and rights.
But defenders of Saied say he has honoured his pledge to fight the corruption and inefficiency that plagued Tunisia for decades.
Still, the North African country of more than 12 million people suffers sporadic shortages of basic items such as milk, sugar and flour, and unemployment is high.
Tunisia’s annual economic growth is projected at just 1.6 percent for 2025, according to the IMF.
Debt hovers at around 80 percent of GDP, compared to 67 percent before Saied took office in 2019.
Saied was re-elected in October 2024 with an overwhelming majority of over 90 percent, in an election marked by a turnout of less than 30 percent.
In February he dismissed finance minister Sihem Boughdiri Nemsia in the middle of the night, replacing her with magistrate Michket Slama Khaldi. — NNN-AGENCIES
