Tunisian president sacks finance minister, names a judge as new minister

TUNIS (Reuters): The Tunisian president on Wednesday sacked Finance Minister Sihem Boughdiri and named Michkat Khaldi, a judge, as new finance minister.

Khaldi took the oath before the president at Carthage Palace, the presidency said in statement. Boughdiri has been in office since 2021.

Boughdiri’s dismissal comes as the North African country’s public finances face a severe crisis that has led to shortages of key commodities including sugar, rice, coffee and cooking gas.

Khaldi, a judge has been since last year the head of the Criminal Reconciliation Committee, which was established by the president to try to reach a settlement with businessmen accused of corruption in exchange for returning funds to the state.

In an effort to mobilize resources this year, the government raised taxes on middle- and high-income earners and resorted to borrowing directly from the central bank worth $2.2 billion to pay urgent debts.