The Tunisian civil society denounced the self-serving policies of international financial institutions (IFIs) during their participation in the Counter Summit of Social Movements to the IMF-WB Annual Meetings being held from October 9 to 15 in Marrakech (Morocco).
The Counter Summit, which is attended by several civil society organizations and social movements from around the world, is held from October 12 to 15 in Marrakech. It was kicked off, on Thursday, with a protest against the debt crisis and its repercussions on some economies. The counter-summit will run until the end of the IMF-WB Annual Meetings.
A number of Tunisia’s civil society organisations also criticized the diktats imposed by international financial institutions and the self-serving policies they use to impoverish countries, warning against their social, economic and environmental impacts.
The counter-summit is attended by Independent Consultant in Tax and Budgetary Policies of the “Ali Ben Ghedhahem” Center for Tax Justice (CAJF), Amine Bouzaïene who told TAP “we are tired of hearing ambiguous speeches delivered by donors. These speeches conceal the truth.”
Bouzaïene underlined that «these institutions serve the same recipes already made to countries which request them, without worrying about their social and economic impacts. These recipes focus on eliminating compensation, reducing wage bills as well as on the floating of the exchange rate and the liberalization of monetary policy….”
He emphasised that “Tunisia asked to postpone this file as opposed to what had been shared by media. Although the IMF has given its approval at the expert level since October 2022, Tunisia asked to delay the review of its file by the Board of Directors of the Fund so as to assess its short-term social impacts.”
The Tunisian Economic Observatory, which is also taking part in the Counter Summit, held, Friday, in Marrakech, in collaboration with other regional organizations, a workshop on the theme of “The fight against Austerity and Neoliberal Policies Imposed by the International Financial Institutions.”
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse