Tunisians protest over energy issue

Tunisians have held protests against what they call the continued control of foreign companies over the country’s energy sector.

According to Press TV, employees of the Tunisian National Company for Electricity and Gas and unionists staged a demonstration in the capital, Tunis, on Friday.
The protesters called on the National Constituent Assembly to protect Tunisia’s natural resources against “the domination of powerful foreign companies.”
Last December, Tunisia’s former Industry Minister Mehdi Jomaa became the country’s interim prime minister.
Since the formation of the country’s new government, parliamentary groups have come under increased pressure to look over contracts with foreign companies.
Last week, Jomaa held his first meeting with 26 leaders of parliamentary groups and political parties to discuss Tunisia’s economic and security situation. He vowed that new reforms would not be implemented at the expense of the country’s deprived classes.
Jomaa and his new technocratic government have given priority to restoring Arab relations and reviving the country’s economy, which has been struggling for three years after the revolution.
The protests over energy come as Tunisian Minister of Industry, Energy, and Mines, Kamel Bennaceur, has come under pressure over corruption allegations.
A number of French and British companies have also been accused of lobbying inside the national assembly of Tunisia.
Tunisia is the birthplace of pro-democracy protests across North Africa and the Middle East that started in 2011. The country’s uprising led to the ouster of longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.