The president of Tunisia, Kais Said, called this Saturday for the creation of a working group to find “immediate” solutions to the environmental crisis in the city of Gabes, on the east coast of the country and which since mid-October has been warning about the high levels of pollution caused by a chemical complex.
The Tunisian Presidency reported, through a statement, that the president commissioned petrochemical engineer Ali Ben Hamoud to form the working group and develop “strategic solutions” for Gabes, whose inhabitants have been protesting since October due to the increase in cases of people with respiratory problems.
The population of Gabes has been demanding their right to a safe environment for years and the demonstrations recently intensified, both in this city and in the Tunisian capital, to demand the dismantling of the units of the chemical complex, after detecting, since the beginning of last September, gas leaks that multiplied health problems.
In addition to the massive protests, the Tunisian General Union of Labor (UGTT), the country’s main union, called a regional general strike on October 21, which claimed to have had a following of more than 95%.
Said, who had previously promised an “urgent” solution based on a “comprehensive strategy,” claimed to have met on several occasions with young people from Gabes, who proposed “realistic and scientific” solutions to the environmental problem that, he said, were ignored by those “dedicated to corruption.”
The Gabes Regional Council of Doctors, which recently described the continuity of the chemical complex’s activities as “unacceptable”, warned of the “catastrophic and serious health effects” and the “obvious” damage caused “over successive decades.”
Pending a definitive solution, the Tunisian Minister of Public Works and Housing, Salah Zaouari, announced more than two weeks ago the “immediate” resumption of six projects that had been paralyzed, worth 200 million dinars (59 million euros), to put an end to toxic gas emissions.
