The draft budget for Tunisia's 2027, published by the official Tunisian News Agency on Thursday, showed that the government intends to borrow approximately 28.12 billion dinars ($9.3 billion) to cover the needs of the public treasury and finance state expenditures.
According to the draft, the government plans to obtain 19.84 billion dinars ($6.68 billion) from domestic loans and 6.87 billion dinars ($2.29 billion) from external loans, in addition to 1.4 billion dinars ($466 million) from other sources not specified in the draft.
The draft estimated the total state budget for 2027 at approximately 68.89 billion dinars ($22.96 billion), compared to 63.57 billion dinars ($21.19 billion) in the 2026 budget, an increase of 8.37 percent.
Bank exemptions to finance the deficit
To enable the government to meet part of its financing needs, the draft law includes an exemption from the provisions of Article 25 of the Basic Law of the Central Bank of Tunisia, allowing it to grant the public treasury a loan of up to 9.8 billion dinars ($3.26 billion), interest-free.
The loan is scheduled to be repaid over 15 years, after a grace period of 3 years.
Accumulated economic pressures
For years, Tunisia has faced accumulated economic pressures, exacerbated by the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war since 2022.
The US-Israeli war on Iran, which erupted on February 28 last year, also contributed to increased global inflationary pressures, due to rising oil prices following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital passage for energy exports and global supply chains.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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