The expression has been circulating insistently in the corridors of the Assembly of People’s Representatives (ARP). Maher Ktari, in his capacity as Chair of the Finance and Budget Committee, irritated by the situation, sums it up as follows: at the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT), time does not move at the same pace as urgencies.
That is, at least, what can be understood and concluded from his various statements and media appearances. Unfortunately, recent developments seem to prove him right.
Between participation in pending reforms, unfulfilled timetable promises and financial diplomacy conducted behind closed doors, the issuing institution has settled into a silence that is becoming increasingly problematic.
Three recent cases, taken together, outline the portrait of an institution that seems to have lost the thread of dialogue with its environment. Nature abhors a vacuum. The BCT should react, even if it no longer fully enjoys the latitude and freedom of action granted by its statutes.
Exchange Code: Parliament calls time on the wait
Faced with the radio silence from the monetary authority, the Finance and Budget Committee of the ARP has decided not to wait any longer.
On Wednesday, June 17, 2026, its chair Maher Ktari made a bold announcement: a decisive vote will be held next Monday to take a major step. Parliament will move forward alone, article by article, on the new Exchange Code.
According to him, the blockage is purely bureaucratic. While 90% of hearings have been completed, including ministries and economic actors, the BCT is the only entity that has not returned any of the requested documents to MPs, still according to Ktari.
“The country can no longer wait,” he said. A polite way of pointing to the BCT’s inertia. A way of passing the hot potato of expectations from startups and both local and international investors demanding reform and a complete overhaul of the Exchange Code into the unresponsive hands of the central bank.
Where is the roadmap for SMEs?
This legislative silence echoes another promise, this time operational. About 40 days ago, precisely on May 6, 2026, BCT Governor Fethi Zouhair Nouri announced with great fanfare the creation of a working group under the Banking and Financial Council (CBF).
Its mission? “To propose, within one month, an operational roadmap defining concrete commitments from the banking sector aimed at strengthening economic financing, supporting SMEs, and driving a new phase of sector development,” according to the BCT statement published at the time on its website.
The information is official, as it was issued by the BCT itself, including the deadline and the Governor’s commitment made public by its services. However, the calculation is simple: the one-month deadline has now expired.
Forty days after this announcement, no public document, no progress report and no visible beginning of concrete commitments for struggling SMEs have emerged.
Did the mountain give birth to a mouse, or is the report also locked away in a drawer at the Central Bank?
One is left wondering what could have prompted the BCT to publicly announce such a tight deadline on a subject with so many stakes and stakeholders.
Financial diplomacy: when Cairo leaks the story
To top it all off, the BCT seems to apply a variable geometry communication strategy, preferring silence at the national level while information surfaces elsewhere. On Sunday, June 14, a high-level bilateral meeting was held between the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) and the BCT to strengthen cooperation and exchange financial expertise.
How did Tunisians learn about it? Not from their central bank. The Egyptian State Information Service (SIS) published the information the following day, Monday, June 15.
According to it, the purpose of this Sunday visit, whose specific context remains unclear, was “sharing expertise in the fields of financial stability and monetary policy.”
On the Tunisian side: nothing, zero, silence. As of June 17, no statement, no tweet, no line on the BCT’s official website.
To find out what the Tunisian monetary authority is doing, one now has to read foreign press. It is hard to imagine a central bank governor travelling for matters that would normally fall under the responsibility of technical staff from both institutions.
A parallelism that should raise concern… if the BCT chooses to communicate
This parallel between the three events is striking, as it reveals a worrying underlying trend. Whether it concerns reforming the outdated exchange framework with Parliament, reporting on economic financing, or informing about international activities, the BCT appears to have retreated into an ivory tower.
In all cases, the Tunisian economy pays the price for this information withholding and delay.
By choosing to move forward without the Central Bank’s input on the Exchange Code, Parliament is about to set a major institutional precedent.
It remains to be seen whether this warning shot, combined with public pressure, will finally prompt a reaction from Hedi Nouira Avenue, where the BCT currently gives the impression of operating in freewheel mode, disconnected from its environment.
Will the Central Bank continue to wall itself in a silence that is increasingly unsettling the country?
