President Kais Saied urges speeding up audit of recruitment and purging public enterprises and institutions

President Kais Saied stressed the need to speed up the audit of illegal recruitment, as he chaired a working meeting on Thursday afternoon attended by Prime Minister Ahmed Hachani, Justice Minister Leila Jaffel, Finance Minister Sihem Boughdiri Namsia and Industry, Energy and Mines Minister Fatma Thabet Chiboub. The President of the Republic also addressed the issue of university graduates who are unemployed due to corruption in recruitment, according to a statement from the Presidency. "What are the criteria for recruitment when the candidate for a job has a doctorate, while the person hired does not even have a primary school diploma and also enjoys job privileges such as housing, cars, etc.," the head of state was quoted as saying in the statement. The President also urged that all officials, regardless of their position, be held accountable for any breach of their duties, especially in the services they are supposed to provide to citizens. 'The refusal to provide these services is an error that should be punished at least with a disciplinary sanction,' the President was quoted as saying in the statement. The President of the Republic also pointed out that not a few of those who hold positions within the State "are lax in carrying out their duties, not because of their usual inactivity, but for political reasons, whereas the public utilities should be based on the principle of neutrality." He added that "those who have consistently failed to take responsibility, serve a particular party, wait for an election date, or manage a public utility taking into account their loyalty to a party, should be held accountable". On the other hand, the President of the Republic reiterated that there is no room for waste in public enterprises and institutions and that they must be "quickly purged of those who have undermined the assets and wealth of the people, as is the case with the Tunisian Sugar Company, the Steel and Iron Company and the National Cellulose and Esparto Paper Company in Kasserine. The Head of State c alled for the prosecution of all those whose involvement in the plundering of public funds has been proven. He urged a fair and equal distribution of the country's wealth among all regions, saying that it "cannot remain a plunder in the hands of gangs and lobbies that still believe they can control the state's institutions and remain beyond accountability". Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse