Tunisia Allocates 780 Million Dinars to Revitalize Municipalities in 2027

Tunisia's Minister of Interior, Khaled Nouri, has outlined a comprehensive program to revitalize the country's municipalities in 2027, with a budget of 780 million dinars. This initiative aims to address the structural crisis faced by municipalities, characterized by deteriorated services, fragile management, and insufficient financial, logistical, and human resources. The program will focus on various areas, including cleanliness, road maintenance, digitalization, municipal markets, and popular neighborhoods.

The allocated funds will be distributed through the State's financial transfer fund to local collectives, with 780 million dinars set aside for municipalities. Additionally, the Caisse des prêts et de soutien aux collectivités locales (CPSCL) will receive 127.4 million dinars in 2027 to finance projects, provide exceptional aid, and offer technical support to communes. The CPSCL will also assist municipalities in evaluating their debt capacity and engaging in collective equipment acquisition.

A significant portion of the budget, 90 million dinars, will be dedicated to modernizing roads. Furthermore, 10 million dinars will be allocated to establish a national video surveillance system aimed at combating illegal waste dumping, accompanied by dissuasive sanctions. Another 10 million dinars in non-earmarked aid will be granted to 78 newly created municipalities to initiate priority projects.

The program also includes several other financing lines, such as 3.6 million dinars for rehabilitating municipal markets and warehouses, 3 million dinars for reducing pollution from landfills as part of a 2025 program, 2 million dinars for recruitment in 29 municipalities, and 1.8 million dinars for waste management and circular economy development. Credits will also be mobilized for popular neighborhoods.

In terms of digitalization, the ministry will allocate 6 million dinars to establish 68 digital service houses under municipal supervision, with 17 structures per year over four years. These houses will provide fully digitized administrative services, support citizens in their procedures, collect complaints and suggestions, and promote electronic payment.

To address the shortage of skills, the ministry plans to recruit 155 chief architects, 145 chief engineers, and 500 technicians in 2027. These recruitments aim to accelerate the processing of building permit requests and land division files. Regarding equipment, a 102 million dinar collective market for 2026 will enable 200 municipalities to acquire 465 vehicles and 7,300 containers, with delivery scheduled for next month.

The minister also announced a national program to generalize the use of buried containers, starting with the most populated municipalities, following the positive results of similar experiences in Kélibia and Hammam Sousse. The transition from provisional management to free administration, in accordance with the Local Collectives Code, is also on the agenda, pending the holding of municipal elections and the installation of elected municipal councils.

Key points

• The program aims to address the structural crisis faced by municipalities in Tunisia.
• A budget of 780 million dinars has been allocated for the municipal revitalization program in 2027.
• The program focuses on various areas, including cleanliness, road maintenance, digitalization, municipal markets, and popular neighborhoods.