The Centre of Junior Managers (CJD) of Utica has just released an advance report on the quality of the institutional environment and business climate in Tunisia
The uniqueness of this initiative is that it is launched by a group of entrepreneurs who take a fresh and uncompromising look at the environment in which they operate as well as at constraints and dysfunctions related to.
More specifically, and as highlighted in the survey introduction, the aim is to “understand the sources of potential bottlenecks particularly in administration and inequality of benefits, detect levers of action , propose an action plan, and also to check ” factors that hinder private initiative taking into account the views of different players, trying to make a comprehensive assessment of Tunisian SMEs institutional environment… and especially focusing on possible causes of resistance to change. ”
Respondents, through this survey that spanned almost all areas where junior entrepreneurs operate, strike out at administrative agents that are perceived as having “low quality or below average “. The tax administration is reported as having the lowest score (2.38) followed by social security funds (2.68). All categories, the objections raised relate to ethics, or lack of communication and transparency, which is less often the case for the administration of the governorate of Nabeul perceived as moderately satisfactory and, as a result, ranks first.
Moreover, the tax administration is regarded as the least efficient in Gabes (followed by Sfax and Monastir). Everywhere, it is criticized for its lack of communication / transparency especially in the Sfax region besides the fact that it does not have the necessary skills, particularly in Le Kef region.
As for Customs Administration, Gabes JM score it severely followed by those of Kef and Bizerte. Both found that the skills of customs officers are particularly low as well as their ethics. In contrast, the characteristic perceived more positively (or least negatively) is that of sense of anticipation as well as staff dedication .
Along the same lines, the social security fund is not doing better, especially in Gabès. Meanwhile, it records its highest score in Sfax , mainly due to its agents’ sense of anticipation. Overall, the characteristic that raises the worst problems for Social Security is communication / transparency (score of 2.59 nationwide).
In terms of local communities, less efficient are those of Gabès, followed by their counterparts in Le Kef, unlike those of Nabeul which seem relatively well appreciated since their average score is 3.56, given that 4 corresponds to a large satisfaction).
The average issue that poses most problems to JM is that of ethics. But more specifically, the communication and transparency of Gabès public bodies is considered in the most severe way.
Public partners
JM say that public institutions’ performance stands below average. Of these, technical centres have the lowest score while business centres come close to satisfaction average.
While Nabeul, Sfax and Kairouan JM perceive public institutions as moderately satisfactory, those of Gabès and Jendouba have a much more critical perception of these partners
Regarding development agencies, blame focuses on the lack of communication and transparency. This is particularly the case for Gabès agency.
If API and APIA are scored 2.70 , they are criticized for their lack of dedication, ethics and lack of sense of anticipation..
Regarding CEPEX, JM don’t have high appreciation of its activities; the area on which CEPEX should focus seems to be the communication on its activities, while technical centres are criticized for their agents ethics.
Utica Federations under the scan
While UTICA core body ranks first, national federations get the lowest score for the lack of predictability of their actions, knowing that this predictability is crucial to build trust between JM and federations.
Even if the scores are very close to each other, characteristics that are perceived as raising the most problems for companies are: skills, predictability and commitment of Federations’ representatives.
Complex and inconsistent regulations
JM polled have a relatively low appreciation of current regulations that may affect their businesses.
This is particularly true for the tax regulations that seem complicated and inconsistent. The second category of regulations that cause problems is that pertaining to public procurement. The two main weaknesses checked are low applicability and lack of dissemination.
