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Tunisia: Ghannouchi signs anti-corruption strategy charter

December 30, 2019 at 4:59 am

Leader of Tunisia’s Ennahda movement, Sheikh Rachid Ghannouchi in Tunis, Tunisia on October 2018 [FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images]

Tunisian Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi signed on Friday the Parliament’s joining of the Charter for the Implementation of the Good Governance and Anti-Corruption Strategy.

The signing ceremony took place at the Parliament House, in the presence of Chawki Tabib, head of the Governance and Anti-Corruption Agency (independent), and leaders of the parliamentary blocs.

“This strategy was called for by the National Constituent Assembly (2011-2014), which decided to implement it. Today, the Assembly of the Representatives of the People signs it along with other bodies,” said Ghannouchi during a joint press conference with Tabib, held in the Parliament after the signing ceremony.

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Ghannouchi called on “all Tunisian bodies at all levels to engage seriously and with full effort in resisting the scourge of corruption to achieve good governance without which development will not be reached.”

He reaffirmed “the joining of the Parliament, all official and popular institutions and civil society in this strategy.”

Tabib praised “the initiative of Ghannouchi, the heads of the blocs and all members of Parliament, in signing this strategy and its charter at the beginning of the parliamentary term.”

“This signing will further consolidate the role of the Tunisian legislator in the areas of governance and anti-corruption,” said Tabib.

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He explained that “among the main objectives of this strategy is promoting political participation in the combat against corruption, which cannot be strengthened without the actual involvement of the Parliament and the government.”

Tabib reminded that “the government signed the charter of this strategy, along with the judiciary, civil society and the National Anti-Corruption Agency, and since December 2016 representatives of the private sector joined this charter.”

He pointed out that “the previous Parliament (2014-2019) had widely contributed to strengthening the legislative pillars of Good Governance and Anti-Corruption.”

Tabib expressed his hope that “the role of the Tunisian legislator in this field will develop, after the Speaker of Parliament’s signing of this strategy today.”

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He also indicated that “after signing it, the Parliament will join the Strategy Leadership Council.”

Tabib urged “the current Parliament to strengthen the legislative arsenal to combat corruption, by amending some important laws, on top of which them the Code of Criminal Procedures, and collecting legal provisions and texts related to public deals and purchases in one code.”

He considered that “70 per cent of the problems in Tunisia is due to the absence of governance and the spread of corruption.”

A month ago, the Tunisian government signed the Charter for the Implementation of the Good Governance and Anti-Corruption Strategy (2016-2020).

Tunisia ranks 73 in the Corruption Perceptions Index for 2018, out of a total of 180 countries included in the study prepared by Transparency International, after it was at the 74 places in 2017.