Opposition and experts warn of a shortage of public drugs and the risks to the 2027 budget
Reports and political forces warn of the repercussions of a central pharmaceutical deficit, trade deficits and grain payments from suppliers and the impact of domestic borrowing on liquidity as the budget debate begins.
Forces and figures from the opposition and expert reports in Tunisia published warnings about the deterioration of financial and social indicators in November 2026 as the debate on the draft state budget for 2027 began in parliament. Reports warned of worsening living difficulties and continued disruptions in the supply of essential food and vital medicines in markets and hospitals.
Professional and union data revealed that strategic public institutions, headed by the Grain Board and the National Board of Trade and Central Pharmacy, are facing structural financial constraints affecting their negotiating ability to finance imports and pay the debts of international suppliers and global pharmaceutical laboratories in contractual areas. This is reflected in the shortage and disruption of vital medicines for patients with chronic diseases, tumors and kidney disease and fluctuations in supportive substances such as sugar, rice, manure, furnace and coffee.
Opposition factions and figures have criticized economic options in the draft budget, believing that recourse to direct domestic borrowing from the central bank and local banks to cover management expenses and wages dries available liquidity for private investment and fuels monetary inflation. The opposition saw the crisis in monopoly and speculation routes, the imposition of an administrative price cap without supporting a production system affected by drought and the filling of feed depths the supply gap and led to the displacement of small farmers and producers.
Opposition components and experts suggest the need to revise the wage ladder, halt the migration of doctors, engineers and academics, clean up the political and judicial climate, launch a comprehensive national and economic dialogue to formulate a rescue program that protects vulnerable groups and reassesses productive institutions.
The data of the draft state budget for 2027 had revealed in early November 2026 that the appropriations allocated to the institution of the Presidency of the Republic had risen to about 248 million and 576 thousand dinars. These warnings come amid declining rates of economic growth, the burden of domestic and external debt service, and the erosion of purchasing power in the face of price inflation as the budget debate in parliament continues.
