The International Monetary Fund has postponed the second tranche of a loan worth $350 million to Tunisia because of a lack of progress in reforms covering public sector wage bill, the public finances and state banks. The IMF urged the acceleration of reforms for Tunisia to be eligible to receive the second and third tranches of a loan that is key to completing the North African country’s 2017 budget. Last January, Tunisia announced a voluntary lay-off program to cut civil service jobs in a bid to narrow the budget deficit and reduce the public sector payroll. According to Tunisian Finance Minister Lamia Zribi “The wage bill in Tunisia rose to 14.4 percent so far and is among the highest in the world. Tunisia’s efforts were hindered by a slowdown in the tourism sector, a major source of income, following terrorist attacks in 2015.

Source: The North Africa Journal March 02, 2017 17:37 UTC