Administrative Reform in Tunisia: A New Era for Citizens and Businesses
For many Tunisians, entrepreneurs in particular, administrative procedures are often synonymous with wasted time, repeated trips, and gathering documents. Obtaining a paper, filing a dossier, or following a procedure can sometimes become a real obstacle course. It is precisely this relationship between citizens and the administration that the 2026-2030 development plan aims to overhaul.
Modernization of Administration: A Key Axis of Reform
According to the Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP) agency, administrative modernization is one of the major axes of reform for the coming years. The stated objective is to build a more efficient administration, capable of responding more quickly to the needs of citizens and businesses. The expected change is not limited to putting a few services online; it affects the very way the administration functions, organizes its resources, and supports public policies.
Simplification of Administrative Procedures
The first transformation concerns the daily life of users. The plan provides for a gradual simplification of administrative procedures, with a reduction in the use of certain practices such as signature legalization or certified copies. The idea is to reduce unnecessary steps and evolve the role of public agents. Instead of spending a large part of their time verifying documents, they could better accompany citizens and improve the quality of service.
Improvement of Reception in Public Structures
This new approach also involves improving reception in public structures. The "Marhaba" label is intended to measure and improve the quality of services offered to citizens. The announced objective is to label 200 public structures by 2030.
Bringing Services Closer to Citizens
The creation of digital service houses is also an important project. According to TAP, 29 digital service houses are to be created in municipalities as early as 2026. These spaces are intended to facilitate access to digital procedures, particularly for citizens far from major administrative centers.
The Role of Public Servants in the Success of the Reform
Behind the platforms and new tools, the success of this transformation depends on an essential actor: the public servant. The administration of tomorrow will need profiles capable of managing projects, using data, and working with new methods. The plan therefore provides for an evolution of human resource management in the public service, with an approach based more on skills and trades.
Training and Evolution of Public Servants
The training of public servants must also evolve. The reform of the National School of Administration provides for a more modern approach with more hybrid training combining face-to-face and digital elements.
Data Management: A New Logic
The other major transformation concerns data. The Tunisian administration wants to gradually move from a logic of documents to a logic of shared information. According to TAP, a national platform is to be created to group data from various administrative structures. This organization is intended to improve coordination between ministries, public establishments, and territorial services.
Open Data and Transparency
The opening of public data also represents an important change. Open Data is intended to strengthen transparency, facilitate access to information, and enable better monitoring of public action. Sectors with a high impact, such as health, transport, education, justice, and finance, are among the priorities of this digital transformation.
The Challenge of Execution
However, the greatest challenge remains that of execution. Tunisia has already launched several administrative modernization projects in the past. The difficulty has not always been the lack of ideas, but rather the ability to ensure continuity, coordination, and application on the ground. By 2030, the challenge will be to transform an administration often perceived as slow into a true partner of economic development. The success of this mutation will be measured less by the number of platforms created than by a simple question for the citizen: has their experience with the state become easier?
