A developed coastline, a lagging behind hinterland
The major differences between Tunisian regions in terms of economic development and standard of living of the population are viewed as the root cause for the revolution of 2011. While economic activities are concentrated within the growth zone around Tunis and the coastal regions, economic growth remains modest in the hinterland, in southern rural areas, and in the north-western and center-western rural areas. Unemployment rate has averaged 23% in remote areas, against 15% in Tunis and only 10% on the coastline.
The national strategy for economic development and investment promotion, published in September 2014, is based on the principle of balanced regional development, one of its four central pillars. According to the strategy, the main reasons for this uneven development lie in the centralization of decision-making power in Tunis, the logic of central planning, the lack of coordination between sectorial ministries in the regions and the inadequate infrastructures in the regions. It proposes to refer, in the future, the regional development and implementation plans to the relevant regions.
The new constitution of January 2014 lays the ground for future regional development: As it is the case for municipalities, regions must now have a representative body that is elected directly, with self-management rights within the context of its regional task assignments and resources allocated.
Approach
The project goal is to improve the institutional conditions for an effective and inclusive regional development in Tunisia. To this end, the project provides its advices at the national and regional levels in seven governorates of the northwest and west-central Tunisia which are particularly lagging behind:
• At the national level, the project supports ministries in the development of laws, administrative procedures and promotion programs for regional development with a focus on extensive decentralization of the country, as provided by the new constitution.
• At the regional level, the project targets regional councils, regional development agencies and regional administrations, in order to strengthen their capabilities in the field of regional development. Appropriate regional governance formats are tested, the dialogue on planning regional development is initiated and regional development tools are improved in cooperation with civil society, the private sector and municipalities.
Outcome – What has been done so far?
So far, the most important contribution of the German cooperation is the development and introduction of a new type of regional planning in selected governorates (called "Regional Plans of Environmental and Sustainable Development" / PREDD, as they emanated from the environmental policy). This form of post-revolution planning:
• focuses on participation and is not, as was the case before, dictated by the central government (involvement of state actors, private sector and civil society in a number of workshops and forums);
• focuses directly on the needs of the regions;
• is based on an analysis of the situation by Tunisian experts, who also question the causes of the lack of development to date;
• is initiated and controlled in a decentralized manner (and not, as before, steered from Tunis);
• promotes growth and reduces poverty by creating medium and long-term income and employment.
Regional development plans were also taken into account in interdepartmental discussions as well as in the national strategic document for economic development and investment promotion of 2014 ("Investing in Tunisia: start-up democracy ").
A concrete example
Upon proposal from the project, a working group comprising representatives of the Ministries of Interior, Economy and Finance was set up, with the task of formulating the specific requirements for regional development with regard to the future decentralization of public administration in Tunisia: What authority will now decide on regional development and infrastructure projects plans? To what extent can citizens participate in decision making? How could financial compensation be made for lagging behind areas? What will be the role of municipalities?
The working group is supported by German and Tunisian experts. As part of a study tour in Germany, regional planning and regional development in a decentralized country were clarified.