Tunisian government's performance is weak

Abdel-Raouf Ayadi Tunis – Nébil Zaghdoud Abdel-Raouf Ayadi, member of the Tunisian National Constituent Assembly and Secretary General of Congress for the Republic Party (one of the members of the coalition government), admitted that the government’s performance was weak and that the programme it submitted to the Constituent Assembly did not state anything new or provide any solutions, noting that the government has succeeded in escaping the control of the National Constituent Assembly. In an exclusive interview with Arabstoday, Ayadi said that despite being more than four months since the government took over its responsibilities,"its performance remains weak, made obvious through the continued popular protests demanding better living conditions and jobs for hundreds of thousands of unemployed, along with complaints of rampant corruption." He added: “All these indicate that the government did not review these concerns and cannot solve these crucial issues." He explained: " It was assumed that the government would listen to those who evaluate its work instead of charging its opponents with blocking its work,” noting: "if it achieved what is required of it in the first phase, the social situation would have not remained as it is since the revolution.” Ayadi explained: "The government programme is not that different from the past development policy. The programme of Mr Hamadi Jebali's government is unclear, especially in terms of international relations, as there is a tendency towards the establishment of new horizontal relationships with Arab and Islamic countries instead of the strategy of Tunisia’s relations with the European Union." "Can this approach compensate for the financial fund which was provided by the West?” he questioned. This is not guaranteed and is unclear; the programme did not provide an answer for the contribution of the West to the future development of the country. This issue was supposed to be discussed by the Assembly because it requires a lot of thinking." On the other hand, he urged the National Assembly to assess its work and to hold discussions about the basic problems that have priority and to politically examine them in order to reach the best solution. Ayadi pointed out that the government has succeeded "in escaping from the control of the National Assembly. The best example is that the government is responsible for a lot of files such as justice for families of martyrs and those wounded in the revolution and transitional justice, for which the Assembly was  supposed to issue recommendations, but all options are currently with the government.” Commenting on the ruling coalition delaying the writing of the constitution, Abdul Raouf Ayadi emphasised that the writing of the constitution "requires a debate on the general trends which are supposed to govern political life within the country.The presence of these different political entities in the Constituent Assembly requires an extensive debate in order not to transform the constitution into a fabrication and replicating process.” He continued: "Those who are trying to slowdown the constitution process had previously requested to draft a new constitution with a group of experts agreed upon through a referendum, but the people chose to draft the constitution by members democratically and directly elected by the people.” He asserted that the Assembly has summoned a group of experts, university professors and representatives of civil society to air their views, experiences and suggestions which will be taken into consideration. "This will provide a full picture of the aspirations of the Tunisian people concerning their requirements of the new constitution. The member of the National Constituent Assembly denied that  attempts had been made to pass a draft constitution prepared in advance by the ruling coalition: "Work in the committees fundamentally differs from what is happening in the Constituent Assembly, There is cooperation and dialogue between the blocs and is free from tensions and clashes.” With regards to the commitment of the prime minister, Hamadi Jebali, to hold elections between next March and June, Ayadi warned that in his opinion, this approach was wrong. "It is necessary to leave the committees to work in their normal direction without any pressure to draft the constitution at a scheduled time." Ayadi concluded.