(Ecofin Agency) - The number of illegal migrants is rising in Tunisia, especially in flourishing, tourist, industrial, and farming areas. To reduce that number, the government plans to introduce numerous measures and actions.

The Tunisian government is moving to make life hard for illegal African migrants living on its soil.

In a statement published after the national security council meeting last Wednesday, President Kais Saied criticized the massive influx of illegal Sub-Saharan African migrants in Tunisia. For the president, this is unacceptable. Therefore, he called for diplomatic and security actions as well as the strict enforcement of the law and military procedures of the laws on the status of foreigners in Tunisia and the illegal crossing of the country's borders.

"A legal arrangement was prepared at the beginning of the century to change the demographics of Tunisia... After 2011, significant funds were received for the settlement of illegal Sub-Saharan African migrants in Tunisia," he said, adding that the objective of this initiative was to ensure that Tunisia is "considered an African state, not one of the Arab and Islamic nations."

Shortly after the publication of the presidential document, an information note from the Tunisian Ministry of Social Affairs announced the intensification of campaigns to control foreign workers in the coming days. The initiative aims to fight illegal African workers.

"The Labor Inspectorate has shown that most of the African foreign workers are working illegally. They also do not provide legal identity or residence and are difficult to trace. Therefore, employers should immediately suspend the persons concerned and report them," the Ministry wrote.

In recent years, Tunisia has been grappling with major economic and social crises. Its growth slowed to 2.4% in 2022, from 4.3% in 2021. Last September, it reached an agreement with the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT), the country's main trade union center, to end the social crisis. In October 2022, the country also reached a staff-level agreement on a $1.9 billion extended credit facility to address the economic crisis.

Jean-Marc Gogbeu