Once bitten, twice shy. Ask Tunisian authorities, they will tell you that this notion is true. We hear that the government has announced a new package of social reforms worth nearly $70 million. The North African country has been rocked by protests ahead of the seventh anniversary of the Arab Spring uprising.
The social reforms package is aimed at improving care for the needy and increasing access to health care following a wave of anti-austerity protests. Social Affairs Minister, Mohamed Trabelsi, said the measures increase monthly benefits to low-income families from €50 per month to €70 ($85). In total, the social reforms package, which requires parliamentary approval, will amount to an increase of 170 million dinars (€56 million/$69 million).
The announcement came after Tunisian President, Beji Essebsi, met with labor unions, political parties and companies to discuss the anti-austerity protests triggered by tax increases that ushered in the New Year on January 1.
A spokesman for the employer’s federation, Wided Boucha, said, “We discussed the general situation in the country and the reforms, especially socioeconomic, that must be adopted to overcome the current problems”. The government took the measure on the eve of the seventh anniversary of anti-government protests that led to the ouster of President Zine Ben Ali and triggered the so-called Arab Spring, a revolutionary wave of demonstrations across North Africa and the Middle East.
The organizers of the protest called for mass demonstrations to mark the anniversary, regretting that the nine governments since then have failed to implement their demands for economic liberty and social justice.
However, Tunisian authorities have been swift to quash anti-government protests. Interior Ministry spokesman, Khalifa Chibani, said more than 800 people had been arrested on suspicion of engaging in violent acts during the week’s protests, including rioting and looting.
Last Tuesday, police used tear gas to disperse a crowd of demonstrators protesting in the Tunisian city of Sidi Bouzid, considered the epicenter of the Arab Spring in 2011.
