Tunisia: President dismisses minister of energy and industry

Tunisian President Kais Saied on Tuesday ordered the dismissal of energy and industry minister Fatma Thabet Chiboub, ahead of a parliament meeting to review controversial draft laws on renewable energy contracts.

The dismissal was announced in a brief statement by the presidency, offering no explanation.

It came amid sharp criticism from unionists and lawmakers on five government-approved bills regulating the granting of concessions to foreign companies primarily for the installation of solar panels.

According to the proposed bills, foreign firms can exploit the energy produced by the panels for a period of 20 years, renewable once for an additional 10 years, with the first five years exempt from taxes.

The energy would be sold to the Tunisian state electricity and gas company, known as STEG.

When presenting the proposed bills, the government argued that they "boost Tunisia's energy independence, guarantee its energy supply, and lower electricity production costs".

Tunisia imports the majority of its energy needs, which has placed a major strain on its annual budget due to subsidies on fuel, electricity and gas.

According to the state secretary for energy transition, Wael Chouchane, the total of renewable energy in Tunisia's grid reached nine percent in April, with a target to raise that to 35 percent by 2030.

The government recently announced investment projects worth nearly $600 million to install solar panels with a combined capacity of 600 megawatts, or a quarter of the country's annual consumption.

The projects would be focused in marginalised areas with low growth but abundant sunshine, such as the country's centre and south.

In a statement Tuesday, the country's powerful UGTT trade union denounced the draft bills, saying they "perpetuate dependence (on foreign countries) and weaken national sovereignty".

It demanded "fair and equitable partnerships" between STEG and foreign firms.

MP Bilel El Mechri, who in recent days slammed what he called "energy colonisation", welcomed the minister's dismissal, demanding that she be "tried for compromising national sovereignty".

Housing minister Salah Eddine Zouari will take up Chiboub's tasks in the interim, the presidency said.