Consumer association to sue Central Bank

increasing the price of milk and tomatoes Tunis – Azhaar al- Jarboui The Tunisian Ministry of Commerce has increased the price of milk and tomatoes, following a decision from the Cabinet at the beginning of the month. The Elaph observatory – a Tunisian consumer association, has blamed the governor of the Tunisian Central Bank for deteriorating the Tunisians’ spending power. Minister of Agriculture Mohamed Bin Salem argued that the price rise was necessary to preserve the livestock. There currently is a noticeable shortage of milk in Tunis. National consumers organisations have urged the government to take action to prevent further increase and to find a solution to the shortage. The Elaph Observatory director Abdel Jalil Al-Zahery is threatening to sue the Central Bank Governor after he announced that banks might no longer grant consumer loans to Tunisian citizens. The Observatory has also denounced the government for making the citizens pay extra taxes because its economic strategy has failed, while some members of the Troika are being generously paid. Al-Zahery will soon issue a new report which will reveal that 70 percent of employees were on holiday between June 15 and July 15 this year, while 52 percent employees did not attend work because of sick or annual leave, with no measure taken to prevent this ‘abuse of freedom’. The Tunisian government has announced a plan to introduce a five-day working week, which has not been welcomed by the Tunisians. Economic experts believe this system would not suit the “tired” economy in Tunisia which has already deteriorated after the January 14 revolution. They stressed that the economy will not recover with this new system, which will only lead to further complications. The observatory also warned of the increase of smuggling activity – this year 30,000 sheep were smuggled in Libya and Algeria. Sheep meat prices have increased by 52 percent compared to last year. The observatory invited the ministry of religious affairs to raise awareness about the alternative celebrations of Eid al-Adha feast, like sharing the same sheep with other families, or buying the meat instead of performing the sacrifice.