ESIS extension / Tunisia / Regulatory Developments / Update Memo 3

The following report outlines new developments in the past three months and the state of on-going developments.

Based on statistics for the first nine months of this year, a 6.2 % GNP growth rate in 1999 is predicted vs. 5% in 1998. The inflation rate on the other hand is expected to go down below the 3% mark.

The Minister of Communications presented the official telecommunication policy of the Tunisian government which has been designed to promote the emergence of the country as a key player in the area.

On the 23 November 1999 the Tunisian officials announced that almost all computer malfunctions that could emerge at the turn of the millennium in telecommunications, power, gas, water production - distribution and customs had been resolved.

A major government reshuffle was decided on 17 November 1999 by the President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. It included the naming of a new Prime Minister and several new ministers. Mr. Mohammed Ghannouchi, 58, until now minister of international cooperation and foreign investment was named Prime Minister instead of Mr. Hamed Karoui, 71.

Changes occurred at the helm of several key ministries including the ministry of foreign affairs, the ministry of defense, the ministry of justice and the ministry of the interior. The cabinet makeup includes a new ministry for human rights, communication and relations with the Chamber of Deputies. A secretariat of state was put in charge of the newly created National Employment Fund. Also affected by the reshuffle were the portfolios of education and scientific research. The number of women in the cabinet doubled from two to four.

1. Decisions by President Ben Ali to tap benefits of new information technologies

The Tunisian President decided the creation of a virtual library on the internet for the benefit of schools, "especially those educational institutions that do not have access to adequate libraries". He also decided to set up new technologically-advanced outfits to create multimedia tools for educational purposes. A national program to connect all educational and research institutions to the Worldwide Web is already well underway.

Another priority of the government in the near future is going to be the completion of the legal bases for electronic commerce in order to adjust the content of Tunisian legal documents to this new activity, as announced at the end of a meeting between President Ben Ali and Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi. E-commerce is actively promoted by Tunisian authorities as a means to further develop business and trade opportunities.

Mr. Ahmed Friaâ, minister of Communications has underlined the concern of Tunisia to be in the forefront of the information technology developments. The objective is to guarantee the presence of Tunisia on the international scene, support competitiveness and protect the national identity. This strategy is based on the modernization of the infrastructure in the sector so that it will contribute to the dynamic development of the economy; further development of the investment rate and it will contribute to a more favorable business environment for foreign investments in Tunisia. This strategy is based equally on the integration of modern technologies and the adoption of widely used "state of the art" technologies.

Mr. Ahmed Friaâ, announced that 300 million dinars will be invested in the communications sector in the year 2000 in Tunisia. The strategy adopted concerning the development of the communications sector is:

Concerning the electronic trade, Mr. Friaâ has underlined that a law governing electronic transactions will be begin in the year 2000.

The national network systems are improving in terms of coverage, quality, capacity and modernization. The number of subscribers of the fixed telephone network system will reach the amount of 1 Mio by the year 2000 and the amount of 2 Mio by the year 2004.

Concerning the Internet, the Minister of Communications underlined that awareness caravans have expanded the advantages of the Internet across the national territory and have been accepted by the total population. The number of subscribers had increased to 24.000 by the beginning of the month December 1999. Furthermore 200 sites were created in this system.

The quality of service in Post Offices including Rapid-Poste has improved due to the introduction of information technology. Funds of 5,8 Mio of dinars have been allocated for IT equipment in all post offices in the year 2000. Currently 980 Public Post Offices are in service, from which 211 are computerized and 220 are equipped with fax machines. 86,5% of the entire work force of the Post Offices have attended special training seminars to facilitate the transition to the new systems. The Ministry of Post and Communications will try to increase the number of post offices by allocating 13,5 Mio dinars in the year 2000. The Ministry has encouraged private companies to undertake the management of P.O. Boxes. Nevertheless, the Ministry will continue to support the Public Post Offices and will try to increase the number of Publipostes, Publinets and other public initiatives.

The President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali received Mr. Ahmed Friâa, Minister of Communications, on 8/10/1999. He expressed his interest in the progress of the projects in the sector of communications in general and especially the undergoing developments for the expansion of the Tunisian GSM mobile phone network, which is expected to reach 1 million subscribers by the end of year and covers the whole country. The President advised that the expansion should be achieved rationally and according to the time schedule as it has the potential to play a major role in the economic development of the country.

A co-operation agreement has been signed between the Institut Superieur du Tourisme and the Hotellerie de Sidi Dhrf and the Foundation Sophia Antipolis (Nice) on 26/10/1999. This agreement concerns the Mediteranian project, (virtual trade schools in the Mediterranean area), which promotes distance learning in tourism. Tunisia, France and Morocco are involved in this project, which is part of the Euro - Mediterranean Eumedis program.

Tunisian officials (23 November 1999) announced that Tunisia has resolved almost all computer malfunctions that could emerge at the turn of the millennium in telecommunications, power, gas, water production - distribution and customs. (See also TNaltQ3 report 1.2 par)

General-Manager Ahmed Mahjoub of Tunisia's telecommunications operator Tunisie Telecom stated that they have already tested and made operational almost all Y2K compatible equipment and software, and that they will certainly be ready ahead of the year 2000 for the whole sector. Mahjoub said that Y2K compatible services include those of fixed telephone, mobile telephone systems, data transmission, satellite communications, networks and Internet systems. According to Belhassen Zouari, head of the Y2K programme at the government's secretariat of state for computers the production and distribution of electricity, gas and water would not be disrupted because the main equipment and software had been made Y2K compatible. He also said that the Tunisian administration computer systems and networks, including the customs information system called SINDA, were also ready to pass 2000.

A website (http://www.an2000.tn) was set up to allow the public to monitor the progress made so far and to find immediate solutions to the bug problem.

The Internet subscribers in Tunisia amounted to 111 in the end of 1996 and reached the number of 15,000 in June 1999. The Internet users were estimated to amount to 75,000. The objective is to reach 30,000 Internet subscribers by the end of the year and 100,000 Internet subscribers in year 2000. The number of web sites has also shown a notable expansion. On December 1996 the number of web sites was 2 while on July 1999 it reached the number of 169. The objective is to reach 250 web sites by the end of the year and 3000 web sites in the year 2000.

Please note that this report has been prepared under the sole responsibility of the ESIS II contractors.
It does not necessarily reflect the views of the Commission, nor does the Commission accept responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of information contained herein.
The ESIS Team of contractors welcomes any additional information or corrections.