Privatization

The Policy of the State as regards privatization

The Program of privatization and restructuring of the enterprises with public participation falls within the framework of the reforms undertaken by the Tunisian Government since 1987, which reforms concerned all the sectors in order to hoist the national economy on a level of performance and competitiveness allowing to win the universalization stakes, to face the future challenges and to found an economy open on the outside and making recourse to the market mechanisms.

The concept of privatization takes roots in Tunisia in a global vision which is based on the partnership between the public sector and the private sector. Thus, the program of privatization essentially aims at achieving the following goals:

the improvement of the profitability and the performance of the enterprise, the increase of its efficacy and its competitiveness in order to allow it more flexibility in management, a better capacity to adapt and face competition and this in order to guarantee its perennity,
to dynamize the opening of the economy by ensuring its passage to a free economy open on the outside and balanced which conciliates between the economic efficacy and the social development and essentially based on the private sector what will allow its integration and to attract external investments,
the unloading of the State from the competitive sectors and the encouragement of the private initiative, so that the intervention of the State is concentrated on the strategic sectors with regard to education, health and environment preservation as well as certain basic functions following the example planning, orientation, equipment, organization and implementation of general policies of supervision and prospect,
the lightening of the pressure on the public finance and this through the reduction of the State intervention in the financing of certain public enterprises and the mobilization of additional resources for the budget of the State in order to invest them in the fields of education and training,
- the dynamization of the financial market and to give more mobility to the capitals of the enterprises in order to modernize and develop them and give more transparency to their management.

The creation of the Directorate General of Privatization

The Directorate General of Privatization was created by decree n° 1996-271 dated 14 February 1996. This directorate is charged to see to the proper unfolding of privatization operations in collaboration with the other concerned public structures. Thus, it is essentially charged of:

the development of the privatization strategy,
the development of the studies relating to privatization,
the permanent secretariat of the Commission of rehabilitation and Restructuring of the enterprises with public participation and permanent secretariat of the Privatization Technical Commission.

It should be noted that the Directorate General of Privatization was joined to the Prime Ministry by decree 2002-2130 dated 30 September 2002.