Finance Minister Announces Plan to Fill Budget Gap
The Minister of Finance, Mischket Salama Khaldi, announced on Friday, November 28, 2025, during a joint plenary session between the Assembly of People's Representatives and the National Council of Regions and Districts dedicated to the 2026 budget bill, that the gap between resources and expenditures will be filled through a loan from the Central Bank. This loan is presented as a mechanism to facilitate government action, rather than a traditional loan.
Emphasis on Social Spending
She emphasized that Tunisia is focusing on social spending, recalling that new recruitments entail high costs. The Minister specified that the return to recruitments in 2026 will be done in stages, stressing that it is impossible to address all regularizations, integrations, and corrections of situations in a single fiscal year.
No External Borrowing Planned
Regarding external borrowing, Salama Khaldi stated that it is not currently planned, as the government's policy relies on self-financing and the exploitation of national resources. However, she specified that external borrowing could be considered in the future solely to diversify funding sources and exclusively for investment purposes, with the goal of supporting the national economy.
