Tunisia: Kairouan governor fired over delays in construction of Saudi Arabia-funded health facility

Tunisia’s President Kais Saied removed Tuesday August 22 the governor of Kairouan governorate (Central Tunisia) because of delays in the construction of the King Salman Ibn Abdelaziz Teaching Hospital financed by the Saudi Development Fund.

The removal came a day after a high-level meeting chaired by the President and attended by the governor Mohamed Bourguiba himself.

Bourgiba had been governor of the region since July 2019.

President Saied has repeatedly fussed over the delays that the project has been facing since the signing of the financing agreement in 2017. Saudi Arabia granted $85 million for the project that will feature 500 beds and health services in a wide range of fields.

The start of the construction process has been repeatedly postponed. Saied slammed open-ended feasibility studies in connection to the project.
“As funds are allocated, and each time a study is completed, it is replaced by a second, then a third, and there is no palpable effect,” the President criticized.

He argued that the delays risk to stain the credibility of the Tunisian State and deprive many citizens of their legitimate right to healthcare.