TUNIS – Tunisia’s parliament on Monday approved a law letting the central bank provide $2.2 billion to finance the 2025 budget to pay off urgent debts, the second time in less than a year that the government has resorted to the bank for funds.
In January, the government also asked the central bank to provide $2.2 billion to finance the state treasury, a move that created fears of a rise in inflation and loss of foreign currency reserves.
The government is increasingly turning to domestic funding amid difficulties in securing foreign loans. The 2025 budget forecasts domestic borrowing to rise to $7 billion from $3.5 billion in 2024 while external loans fall to $1.98 billion from $5.32 billion.
Finance Minister Sihem Boughdiri told parliament on Monday that the request for direct financing from the bank was to pay off urgent debt due early next year.
She added that Tunisia needs to pay off debt worth 9 billion dinars ($2.85 billion) in the first quarter of 2025, including 5.1 billion dinars in foreign debt.
President Kais Saied has criticised the central bank for its independence, saying it should not be a state within a state.
A bill proposed by lawmakers in October and expected to be debated early next year would strip the bank of sole power to adjust interest rates or foreign exchange policy, requiring such decisions be taken in consultation with the government.
($1 = 3.1575 Tunisian dinars)
(Reporting by Tarek Amara Editing by Alex Richardson and Peter Graff)
