2023-06-27 22:05:43
In Tunisia, the economic crisis is worsening with no signs of easing. In the country, faced with inflation and the high cost of living, resourcefulness and the informal sector are becoming more and more present. Nearly 45% of the active population would work in the informal sector, according to a study published in 2023 by the think tank the Tunisian Institute for Strategic Studies and 50% of young people work in this sector. But the precariousness and illegality of this economy are denounced, even by the most persistent.
From our correspondent in Tunis,
In the rue d’Espagne in downtown Tunis, the displays of street vendors invade the sidewalks every morning. They sell clothes, utensils of all kinds and counterfeit objects imported from China and transported to Tunisia via Algeria.
Houssine Chaari explains that he has been doing this work for 17 years without any legal status. ” It’s good enough that the state gives me an identity card, I don’t have anything else. I work day to day. If the police tell me to leave, I leave, otherwise I work with people, I sell tap shoes and if I earn at the end of the day enough to feed my children and ensure their schooling, that’s already not bad. »
An informal economy with precise rules
At his side, Sofien Jaballah, sociologist and author of a study with the Forum for Economic and Social Rights carried out in 2022 on the ecosystem of this street. He explains that the informal economy obeys precise rules.
« It’s an informal economy, but formalized, how it’s formalized ? Tribal cohesion, security, insurance, financing by the same families. So they come from a region of Sbiba or Jelma in the centre-west, it is a region marginalized by the state. »
The police tolerate these activities, according to Sofien, because the state has no immediate solution to regularize them and the unemployment rate is 15% in the country. ” Today, to have capital, to have financing from the bank, to even find a small source of financing, it is almost almost impossible whereas the informal sector opens doors, it gives opportunities for the majority disadvantaged classes. It’s not the “American dream”, it’s not a “success story” but it’s the “Tunisian dream” for the poor », underlines Sofien Jaballah.
A journey full of pitfalls
Others have tried to get by like Habib el Bey, a young man who does street-food and culinary shows in a food-truck in different cities of the country. He had been arrested in 2022 because he had no authorization to practice his profession. This incident sparked public outrage.
A year later, famous, he continues to make his sandwiches, but he admits that he still has difficulties. ” Unfortunately, opening a food-truck is not accessible to everyone, there are no specifications. Me, I try through my events and my notoriety to show the authorities that it is possible to do something clean that respects health standards », martèle Habib el Bey.
If Tunisia has set up, since 2020, the status of auto-entrepreneur, a majority of professions related to the informal sector still do not have adequate legislation.
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