Tunisian PM outlines government's priorities to parliament

Lareyedh wants the Constituent Assembly to draft a new charter for Tunisia Tunisia’s Prime Minister Ali Lareyedh has unveiled his programme for government to the country's National Constituent Assembly (NCA). In a speech lasting 50 minutes, he laid out the difficulties ahead for his interim administration, including restoring security, protecting the prestige of the state, confronting corruption, providing 1250 job opportunities and developing the poor areas.
Lareyedh promised his government would conduct fair and free elections, and welcomed Tunisian parliamentary speaker Mustapha Ben Jaafar's decision to hold elections in October.
The Ennahda politician emphasised the importance of national security and confronting the violence, adding that only stability in Tunisia would guarantee the protection of rights and freedoms, to help push forward with investments.
Lareyedh pledged to impose the rule of law and to protect the prestige of the Tunisian state against the violations aiming to destabilise the country.
The Tunisian prime minister also promised an impartial investigation into the assassination of Tunisian left-wing leader Chokri Belaid, and underlined the government's willingness to intensify its security coordination with Algeria to confront the threat of terrorism.
He rebuked the violence, pledging to prosecute those who had carried out violent activities over the last few months.
Lareyedh claimed that the new Tunisian government would aid the development of the national economy, and he pledged to improve the financial organisations and to control the deficit.
The PM said it is important to tackle the problem of unemployment, and said his government would provide 1250 new jobs to young people in Tunisia and boost investments in the public sector. He also promised to control inflation and stop monopolisation of industries.
Lareyedh called for national unity and pledged to confront the problem of corruption in Tunisia. He urged all national political parties to cooperate with his regime and to work for the betterment of Tunisia, adding that dialogue is the only way to achieve serious reform.
The Tunisian prime minister said that the Tunisians had suffered from a state of anxiety due to the current state of insecurity throughout the country.
Lareyedh praised his predecessor Hamadi Jebali and called on the Constituent Assembly to speedily come up with a new charter for Tunisia.
He expressed his hope that the new government would gain the confidence of the Constituent Assembly and build on the good work of the previous regime.