Day: June 8, 2024

President Kais Saied chaired a meeting at Carthage Palace on Friday to review and complete certain provisions of the Commercial Code relating to the legal system of cheques, in addition to the draft law amending Article 411 of the Commercial Code, which is currently before the Assembly of People’s Representatives.

The President of the Republic reiterated the need to achieve the desired balance between all parties and to allow those who have been convicted or are on the run a reasonable period of time to regularise their situation, according to a statement from the Presidency.

“In addition to allowing debtors to recover their money, this draft will not only have a positive impact on creditors and debtors, but will also increase the security of cheque transactions and improve banking practices in order to achieve economic development and social justice,” the statement quoted the Head of State as saying.

“Prisons and flight are not the solution and neither SMEs nor the economy can thrive under the current unj
ust legal system, which it is time to put an end to once and for all,” he added.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Temperatures will rise considerably this Saturday, exceeding seasonal norms by 8°C, engineer at the National Institute of Meteorology (INM) Sobhi Ben Ahmed told TAP.

This rise will be felt particularly in the north-western regions, including Kef, Jendouba and Siliana, where highs will reach 43°C with sirocco wind blows. Seasonal norms for June vary between 27°C and 31°C in coastal regions, and between 32°C and 37°C elsewhere.

The rise in temperatures in these regions is due to the south-west wind blowing in from the Algerian desert, carrying a warm, dry mass of air, explained Ben Ahmed.

He added that the mercury will rise to 38°C in Tunis this afternoon, with sirocco wind blows across the capital.

Highs will range between 31°C and 36°C in eastern coast regions and between 37°C and and 43°C elsewhere.

With the exception of the Serrat region, the sea will be relatively calm and suitable for bathing in most coastal regions.

A relative drop in temperatures is expected from Sunday June 9 in the northern regi
ons, due to northerly air currents, the INM engineer pointed out, adding that the heat will persist in the centre and south.

Finally, the mercury is expected to drop across the country from Wednesday June 12.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

The weather is generally cloudy on Saturday, to gradually cloudy in the afternoon over western regions of the north and midland with local storm cells and isolated showers.

The wind is blowing east in the north and midland and south in the south, relatively strong near coasts and light to moderate inland.

The sea is rough to very rough in the afternoon in the north, and slightly choppy elsewhere.

Highs range between 31 and 36°C in eastern coast regions and between 37 and 43°C elsewhere.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Central Banks and Climate Change: “Financial stability cannot be achieved without greening financial system” (Moez Labidi)

08/06/2024 13:58, TUNIS/Tunisia

Tunis, June 8 (TAP)-The need to green monetary policies in the Arab region to encourage the transition to more ecologically sustainable economies was underlined by adviser to the management of the Arab Planning Institute, economist Moez Labidi.

In his recent brief brief entitled “Central Banks and Climate Change: Monetary Policies for Achieving Environmental Transition in the Arab Region,” Labidi considered that “the threats of climate change have not yet been given the place they deserve on central banks’ policy agenda, in the Arab region.”

“In the last few years, many central banks have become aware of the climate-related financial risks. Two factors explain

this trend reversal. On one side, financial stability cannot be achieved without greening the existing financial system. On the other side, price stability remains difficult to achieve given the
new potential inflationary threats generated by a new age of energy price inflation, either because of the physical risks (climateflation) or from transition risks (greenflation and fossilflation), and without the fluidity of transmission channels that could be affected by financial climate-related risks,” the economist explained.

“Fossilflation is historically associated with inflation generated by geopolitical tensions (oil shocks of the 1970s, the Ukraine war in 2022, …). However, recently, the rise of climate change has left its mark. The fight against climate change marks fossil fuels more expensive especially when green technology is slow to meet the rise of global demand for renewable

energy and green products,” he said.

Greening monetary policy in Arab region is handicapped by persistent poor toolbox

“Greening monetary policy and prudential framework is not an easy task for central banks in the Arab region. Several conditions must be met in this regard: ‘green bonds’ issues, a dynamic secondary bo
nd market, a resilient banking sector, a clear and credible ‘transition plan,’ a comfortable fiscal space, an economy that is not heavily dependent on fossil energy, availability of granular data, a well-equipped macroprudential toolbox, etc…All these conditions are not actually met by

the countries of the region,” according to the brief.

“The awareness of environmental problems has come a long way in the Arab region, but for central banks it is still in a rather embryonic state. Certain central banks have only joined the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS),” Labidi considered, adding that NGFS is a network composed of central banks and financial supervisors, that aims to “define, promote and contribute to the development of best practices to be implemented within and outside of the Membership of the NGFS and to conduct or commission analytical work on green finance” (NGFS, 2017).”

“Several Arab institutions have also joined NGFS, such as the Abu Dhabi Financial Services Regulatory Authority (
2019) and the Financial Regulatory Authority of Egypt (2020). Other countries have been led to issue ‘green bonds’ only in their domestic markets such as Morocco (USD 356 million, in 2018) and Lebanon (USD 60 million, in 2018). However, until now, all these bond issues have not served to greening monetary policy, in so far as the central banks of these countries have

not used green quantitative easing or a new regulation favoring ‘green bonds’ during refinancing operations at the central bank window,” the brief reads.

//Courses of action

The economist estimates that “the Central banks in Arab region will have to review their traditional mandates

considering the increased climate-related risks. Only a combination of different monetary, prudential, and fiscal measures and incentives can make the difference between a successful environmental transition and a failed one.”

“The implementation of structural reforms remains crucial to improve fiscal space to make financing for the environmental

transition more
accessible. The development of the local bond market in the Arab region could play a significant role in boosting ‘green’ bond issuance and support the greening of monetary and macroprudential policies.”

It is also essential to “improve the resilience of the banking sector to ensure the effectiveness of monetary policy. The banking sector remains the main channel for transmitting monetary policy in the Arab region and a major investment lever for greening monetary policy,” he indicated.

“Central banks should adopt the environmental footprint approach (carbon footprint and water scarcity footprint) to enhance the efficiency of the greening of monetary and macroprudential policies. Climate resilience remains the best guarantee of

energy security, food security and debt sustainability,” Labidi underlined.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Broiler production saw an upward trend during the first five months of 2024 (+1.3%) compared to the same period in 2023, according to figures by the National Observatory of Agriculture (ONAGRI).

This production reached 12,500 tonnes in May 2024, posting a 3.7% rise compared to the same month last year and dipping 0.6% on April 2024.

Eggs for consumption in the first five months of 2024 showed a steady progression with a growth rate of 1.2%. Compared to the same period in 2023, production edged up 4.1%, ONAGRI’s May 2024 agricultural sector report revealed.

In May 2024, the production of eggs for consumption rose 4.1% compared to the same month last year, going up from 152,900 units to 159,100. However, compared to April 2024, production was slightly up (+ 0.1%).

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse