The Tunisian government will again in 2026 seek extraordinary direct financing from the central bank of up to $3.7 billion, the budget draft submitted to media on Wednesday revealed, as a measure to finance the fiscal deficit since external financing is short, according to Finance Minister Ali Kooli.
Tunisia is battling a severe financial crisis characterized by high public debt, low growth, and scarce access to external financing after President Kais Saied took almost all the powers in 2021, which the opposition branded as a coup.
The financial strain has pushed the government to seek immediate solutions for stabilizing the country’s finances and keeping essential public services.
The government took a $2.3 billion loan this year to repay urgent debts, which experts have warned will propel the country into an inflation spiral.
Tunisia will need internal and external financing of 27 billion dinars in 2026, almost the same as this year, and will be issuing sukuk for 7 billion dinars ($2.3 billion) for the first time in 2026.
Experts cautioned that Tunisia’s return to over-reliance on domestic borrowing threatens to drain available funds, which could divert the focus of banks’ lending from the real economy to meeting the government budget deficit.
The budget is projected to increase from 59.8 billion dinars to 63.5 billion dinars.
The government will also increase public and private sector wages within the next three years and will levy a 1% wealth tax on properties worth more than 5 million dinars.
TunisianMonitorOnline (BRC)
