Summary:

On 17 October 2023, the office of President Kais Saied announced that Minister of Economy and Planning, Samir Saied, had been terminated from his position. 

Official statements did not clarify the reason for the firing. However, the announcements indicated that Siham al-Boughdiri Namsieh, the current Minister of Finance, would assume the vacated role in a temporary capacity. 

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Samir Saied’s firing comes shortly after his appearance at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) meetings held in Marrakech from 9 – 15 October. Saied met with numerous potential donors and international lenders, stressing in an interview that many organizations continue to view future funding as tied to a completed deal with the IMF. 

President Saied has expressed in strong terms his unwillingness to comply with what he has called “diktats” from the IMF regarding necessary reforms to Tunisia’s economy, specifically the sprawling public sector labor force and the subsidies system. The President has insisted that implementing the IMF-outlined reforms would lead to protests and unrest in Tunisia. 

Outlook:  

In his role as Minister of the Economy and Planning, Samir Saied was viewed as one of the most vocal proponents of completing a deal with the IMF.  

Commentators assessed that his firing was a result of his vocal support for Tunisia pursuing the IMF deal that President Saied has viewed skeptically. 

The firing of Samir Saied is one of many unceremonious firings carried about by President Saied as he continues his reform program with broad popular support. This firing specifically could signal that the IMF deal is even further from completion than it has been in months even as the IMF announced plans to send a delegation to Tunisia in December. 

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