The situation of public finances is difficult but the reform and the management of the crisis are still possible, Auditor-General Wahbi Hammi said on Tuesday.
He was speaking at the annual conference of auditors of public expenditure 2021, held in Gammarth on ways to rationalise public spending to face budgetary challenges.
«The management of the crisis is possible through adopting a revolutionary Finance Law for 2022 to cope with the acute crisis of public finances. This law should focus on tax justice, combating tax evasion and streamlining public spending.»
The reform of public finances is also possible through stepping up the COVID-19 vaccination, to avoid the repercussions of possible new waves of the coronavirus, he added, while calling for a new social contract that inspires solidarity and citizenship.
«The reform of public finance requires good governance in companies and public institutions, which would improve their performance and reduce their losses.»
Hammi called to take advantage of digitisation and the recovery of the global economy, especially with projections of agricultural recovery following the recent rainfall.
He also urged a transition from combating corruption to preventing it through a set of laws and mechanisms, including improving the online procurement system «Tuneps.»
The main threats to public finances in the coming years are new waves of the coronavirus pandemic that could prolong the global recession and maintain the upward trend of oil prices, he pointed out.
At the national level, the main threats are, according to him, the persistence of corruption, the slippage of public spending and tax evasion.
In turn, Head of the General Committee of the Budget Administration Jawaher Ben Amor pointed to the difficult situation of public finances since 2010 and the growing imbalance between resources and expenditures that has been behind the worsening of the budget deficit and rising debt.
For her, the social and security disturbances and the deterioration of the business climate that have led to the regression of investments and productivity, and therefore of growth, remain the main reasons behind these slippages.
