Decentralization in Tunisia :
After the Jasmin revolution in 2011 , Tunisia has taken several to measurement to limit the highly centralized structures builded by the Ben Ali family to the new, democratic central government and then from the executive to the parliament. Today, Tunisia is always facing the crucial task of shifting power from the national to the local institutions like municipalities.
This decentralization of power has the potential to address long-standing issues of dramatic regional disparity in the healthcare and education sectors, as well as in poverty and infrastructure.
In partnership with our local partners like ATCP we are always working on showing the possible opportunities of Decentralisation
This new aspect will empower local actors to make decisions regarding their municipalities and regions that lead to real changes for their constituents and this could introduce a new political class, which would be outside the country’s traditionally dominant political parties and could provide more opportunities for women and youth to enter politics.
Also, Decentralization can improve service delivery at the local level—where poor performance since the 2011 revolution has resulted in mistrust between citizens and the state as well as low tax revenues.
Decentralization requires strong political will—from officials in the central government, who must willingly give up some of their own power and demonstrate their commitment to participatory governance at the local level; and from local officials who must build trust with their constituents, provide opportunities for citizen engagement, and prevent the re-creation of ineffective institutions at the local level.