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THE SHADOW ECONOMY OUTSIDE TUNIS: HOW INFORMAL MARKETS AND BUSINESSES OPERATE BEYOND THE OFFICIAL STATISTICS

 

THE SHADOW ECONOMY OUTSIDE TUNIS

How Informal Markets and Businesses Operate Beyond the Official Statistics

By Barhoumi Mohamed Chaeib
Journalist & Researcher – Tunisia
ATEP MED – Arabic Digital Center for Media and Development

Introduction: The Economy That Exists Outside the Numbers

Walk through a weekly market in an interior Tunisian town and an economic reality quickly becomes visible.

There are traders selling clothing, food, agricultural products and household goods.

There are small transport operators, repair workers, seasonal labourers, street vendors, home-based producers and countless people earning an income without necessarily appearing in the same statistical and administrative categories as formally registered businesses.

This economy is not necessarily hidden in the physical sense.

It is visible everywhere.

What is less visible is its full economic weight.

How much money circulates through it?

How many people depend on it?

How many activities are registered?

How many workers have social protection?

How much tax revenue is potentially outside the formal system?

And why do so many people continue operating outside the formal economy?

These questions are particularly important outside Tunis, where formal employment opportunities and private-sector activity can be more limited and where informal activities can become an essential source of household income.

A Large Economy That Is Difficult to Measure

A major study published in March 2026 estimated the average size of Tunisia's shadow economy at 39.08% of GDP between 1988 and 2023. The researchers used a Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes model and identified factors including tax pressure, unemployment, trade openness and corruption as among the causes associated with the shadow economy.

The study estimated higher levels during major economic shocks, including 41.70% during the 2011 Revolution period and 46.62% in 2020 during the COVID-19 crisis.

These figures should not be confused with an official measurement of the entire informal economy.

They are an academic estimate based on a specific methodology.

But they raise an important question for journalists:

If a significant part of economic activity is difficult to observe directly, what does the official economic picture leave out?

Beyond the Capital

The informal economy is not a single phenomenon.

It can take different forms depending on the region.

In agricultural areas, it can include seasonal agricultural labour, small-scale production and direct sales.

In towns, it can include market traders, small workshops, repair services, transport and street commerce.

In border regions, informal cross-border trade can become particularly important.

In poorer communities, informal work may simply be a survival strategy for people who cannot find formal employment.

This means that an investigation into informality cannot rely exclusively on statistics produced in Tunis.

It needs to go to the places where the economy operates.

The Market as an Economic Observatory

A weekly market can tell a journalist a great deal about the local economy.

Who sells?

Who buys?

Where do products come from?

How are they transported?

How many sellers have formal business registration?

How many issue invoices?

How many workers are employed?

How much does a trader typically sell in a normal day?

What are the main costs?

How much income remains?

Do sellers pay taxes or social contributions?

These questions should not be used to criminalize ordinary traders.

The purpose is to understand the economic system in which they operate.

A person selling agricultural products without a formal company structure may not see himself as part of a "shadow economy."

He may simply be trying to earn a living.

That distinction matters.

Informality and Employment

The informal economy is also an employment issue.

The International Labour Organization has emphasized that informal employment is widespread globally and is strongly associated with employment vulnerability and deficits in decent work.

For Tunisia, the ILO's labour statistics provide data on informal employment by sex, age and urban/rural status, among other dimensions.

A recent ILO supervisory document citing ILOSTAT data reported an informal employment rate of 58.7% in Tunisia in 2024, with a higher rate among young people.

The number is striking, but it also needs to be understood correctly.

Informal employment is not identical to the shadow economy as a percentage of GDP.

They are different statistical concepts.

One concerns employment and the nature of jobs; the other concerns economic activity that is not fully captured by formal measurement.

A serious investigation must keep these definitions separate.

The Young Worker Outside the Formal System

For many young people, the choice may not be between a formal job and an informal job.

It may be between informal work and no income at all.

A young person may work as a mechanic's assistant, sell goods in a market, provide transport services, work seasonally in agriculture or operate a small activity from home.

The work may generate income, but it may not provide the protections associated with formal employment.

There may be no pension contributions.

There may be no unemployment insurance.

There may be limited access to credit.

There may be no formal employment contract.

This creates a paradox.

The informal economy can provide employment where the formal economy does not provide enough jobs, while simultaneously leaving workers more vulnerable.

Small Businesses Facing a Difficult Choice

Informality is not only about workers.

It also concerns businesses.

A small entrepreneur may face registration procedures, taxes, accounting costs, social contributions and regulatory requirements.

For an established company, these costs may be manageable.

For a very small activity generating limited revenue, they can become a major barrier.

The result can be a cycle:

The activity remains small because it is informal.

Because it remains informal, access to finance can be limited.

Because access to finance is limited, the business cannot expand.

Because the business cannot expand, formalization may appear too expensive or risky.

The ILO has identified enterprise formalization as an important policy challenge and notes that informal enterprises are often characterized by low productivity and deficits in decent work, while also recommending measures that make registration cheaper, easier and more attractive.

The Border Economy

In some regions, informal economic activity has another dimension: cross-border trade.

Tunisia's border areas have long experienced informal trade influenced by price differences, taxes, subsidies and market conditions in neighbouring countries.

A World Bank analysis of Tunisia's informal cross-border trade found that differences in subsidy and tax regimes could create strong incentives for informal trade. It also noted that informal trade can generate employment for wholesalers, transporters and service providers.

The lesson is important.

Informal trade is not simply a question of individuals breaking rules.

It can also reflect economic incentives created by differences between markets.

If the price of the same product is dramatically different on two sides of a border, economic activity will tend to move toward that difference.

The journalist's task is to understand the mechanism.

Where Does the Money Go?

One of the central questions for our investigation should be the movement of money.

Suppose a trader purchases goods for 1,000 dinars and sells them for 1,300.

Where did the goods come from?

Who transported them?

Who stored them?

Who sold them to the trader?

How many people earned income during the process?

How much of the transaction was formally recorded?

How much entered the banking system?

How much was paid in taxes or social contributions?

And how much remained outside formal accounting?

This approach transforms the investigation from a general discussion about "informality" into an examination of an economic chain.

The Cost to the State

The informal economy can have consequences for public finances.

Businesses and workers operating outside the formal system may not contribute to taxation or social protection systems in the same way as formal enterprises and employees.

The International Labour Organization notes that informal enterprises generally do not generate public revenues in the same way as formal enterprises and can create unfair competitive pressures for formal businesses.

But the fiscal question should not be examined alone.

If informal activity disappeared tomorrow without creating alternative formal employment, thousands of households could lose income.

Therefore, the real policy challenge is not simply:

How can informal activity be eliminated?

It is:

How can viable economic activity move gradually into the formal economy without destroying the livelihoods that currently depend on it?

What Official Statistics Can and Cannot Tell Us

Official statistics remain essential.

The National Institute of Statistics publishes regular economic and social indicators and labour-market information.

But measuring informality is inherently difficult.

The ILO and OECD have noted that measuring informality in the MENA region is complicated by limited data collection and restricted access to microdata. Tunisia has made progress in measuring informal employment through its labour-force survey, but important limitations remain.

This creates an important opportunity for investigative journalism.

Journalists can complement official statistics with field evidence.

A market survey.

Interviews with traders.

Interviews with workers.

Business registration records.

Local tax information where accessible.

Transport observations.

Agricultural production data.

Household income stories.

Banking and payment trends where reliable aggregate information is available.

The goal is not to replace official statistics.

It is to help explain what the statistics cannot fully show.

The Women Who Work Without a Shop

Another part of the informal economy can remain almost invisible because it takes place inside homes.

Women may produce food products, clothing, handicrafts, agricultural goods or other products and sell them directly or through intermediaries.

The activity may generate income without becoming a registered enterprise.

This is particularly important in rural communities.

A woman may contribute substantially to household income while remaining statistically difficult to identify as an entrepreneur.

The investigation should therefore ask:

How many women participate in these activities?

What products do they make?

Who buys them?

How much do intermediaries earn?

What prevents formalization?

Could digital commerce provide a pathway into the formal economy?

Could cooperatives or social and solidarity economy structures provide alternatives?

These questions connect the informal economy with women's economic participation and regional development.

Digital Payments and the Informal Economy

The digital transformation of Tunisia's economy also creates a new question.

Can digital payments make informal economic activity more visible?

Can online commerce allow small producers to reach customers beyond their local markets?

Can electronic invoicing and digital administrative services reduce the cost of formalization?

The ILO has examined the relationship between technology, e-government and informality and found that digitalization can influence informality in different directions. Its research suggests that e-government can reduce informality in many cases, although technology can also create new forms of own-account work and informality.

This could become one of the most interesting dimensions of the investigation.

The informal economy may not simply be disappearing.

It may be changing.

The Field Investigation

To understand this economy, ATEP MED's investigation should eventually focus on several interior regions representing different economic realities.

For each location, the research team could document:

Type of informal activity

Number and profile of workers

Estimated daily or weekly turnover where participants voluntarily provide information

Supply sources

Customer profile

Employment conditions

Access to social protection

Relationship with formal businesses

Barriers to registration

Use of cash and digital payments

Relationship with local authorities

Economic importance to households

The investigation should combine interviews with available statistical and documentary evidence.

The People Behind the Statistics

Behind every percentage is a person.

The street vendor.

The seasonal agricultural worker.

The young mechanic.

The woman producing food at home.

The small transporter.

The market trader.

The repair worker.

The family running a small workshop.

They are not simply "the informal sector."

They are people navigating an economic system in which formal opportunities may not always be accessible.

Understanding their choices is essential to understanding Tunisia's economy.

Conclusion: An Economy That Cannot Simply Be Ignored

Tunisia's informal economy is neither a marginal phenomenon nor a simple story of illegal activity.

It is a complex economic reality involving workers, families, traders, small businesses, farmers, consumers and entire local markets.

Recent research suggests that the shadow economy represents a substantial share of Tunisia's economic activity, while labour statistics indicate a high level of informal employment.

Yet the most important part of the story cannot be found in a single percentage.

It is found in the markets and streets of Tunisia's interior regions.

It is found in the workshops, farms, homes, transport routes and small businesses where people create income every day.

The challenge for policymakers is to understand why people remain informal and how formalization can become economically attractive.

The challenge for journalists is different.

It is to make this invisible economy visible without stigmatizing the people who depend on it.

The question is therefore not simply:

How large is Tunisia's shadow economy?

The deeper question is:

What would happen to Tunisia's interior regions if this economy suddenly disappeared — and what would be required to bring its workers and businesses into a stronger, more secure and more productive formal economy?

That is the investigation that remains to be done.

By Barhoumi Mohamed Chaeib
Journalist & Researcher – Tunisia
ATEP MED – Arabic Digital Center for Media and Development

 

WHERE DO THE RESULTS OF DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS GO AFTER THE FUNDING ENDS?

An Investigative Report on the Fate of State- and Internationally-Funded Development Projects in Tunisia's Interior Regions

By Barhoumi Mohamed Chaeib
Journalist & Researcher – Tunisia
ATEP MED – Arabic Digital Center for Media and Development

Introduction: The Question After the Project Ends

A development project usually has a clear beginning.

There is a funding agreement, a budget, an implementation period, a set of objectives and, eventually, an official completion date.

But what happens the day after the project ends?

Does the infrastructure continue to function?

Do the jobs created by the project survive?

Do local enterprises continue to operate?

Do farmers continue using the equipment and services provided?

Does the institution responsible for the project continue maintaining what was created?

And, most importantly, does the population continue to benefit from the investment several years later?

These questions are particularly important in Tunisia's interior regions, where development projects financed by the state and international partners are often presented as instruments for reducing regional disparities and strengthening local economies.

The question of sustainability therefore deserves to become an investigation in its own right.

Billions in Development, but What Remains?

Tunisia has a substantial portfolio of development projects supported by international financial institutions.

The World Bank's Tunisia portfolio alone included 169 projects with total commitments of approximately US$13.9 billion as of August 2026. Recent projects include programmes covering water security, irrigation, rural livelihoods and social development.

The African Development Bank's Tunisia portfolio lists 195 projects and more than UA 7.5 billion in commitments. Its project database also provides information on project status, financing and expected results.

These figures demonstrate the scale of development financing.

But financial volume is only one part of the story.

The more difficult question is what happens after implementation.

A project can be officially completed while its long-term impact remains uncertain.

Completion is not necessarily the same thing as sustainability.

Following a Project Beyond Its Official End Date

This investigation proposes a simple principle:

Do not stop following a development project when the donor stops financing it.

Instead, follow it for another two, three or five years whenever the available documentation allows.

Take a regional infrastructure project.

The official documentation may provide the original budget, implementation period, development objectives and expected beneficiaries.

But after completion, another set of questions becomes necessary.

Is the infrastructure still operational?

Who maintains it?

How much does maintenance cost?

Has the responsible institution allocated a budget for maintenance?

Are the original beneficiaries still using it?

Has the local economy changed as expected?

Have new businesses emerged?

Have employment opportunities been created?

If the project included training, are the people trained still using their skills?

These are the questions that can reveal whether development financing produced a lasting result or merely a temporary intervention.

The Difference Between Outputs and Impact

Development projects often measure outputs.

A road was constructed.

A water network was installed.

A number of farmers received training.

A number of enterprises received support.

A number of young people participated in a programme.

These are measurable achievements.

But they do not necessarily answer the larger question of impact.

A training programme may train hundreds of people, but how many subsequently find employment?

A local agricultural programme may introduce new products, but do farmers continue producing them after external technical assistance ends?

A project may create a processing facility, but does the facility remain operational when project financing disappears?

A public building may be completed, but who pays for maintenance and operation?

The difference between what was delivered and what survived is one of the central questions of this investigation.

Tunisia's Regional Development Challenge

The issue is especially relevant because regional disparities remain a major development challenge in Tunisia.

Recent World Bank documentation continues to identify disparities between lagging interior regions and more developed coastal areas.

The Tunisia Economic Development Corridor Project, for example, was designed to address regional economic disparities around the Kasserine–Sidi Bouzid–Sfax corridor by improving road transport access and access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises.

The project included US$168.05 million for corridor infrastructure development and US$47 million for corridor economic development. Yet the World Bank's October 2025 implementation report rated progress toward the development objective and overall implementation progress as moderately unsatisfactory at that stage.

This does not prove that the project failed.

It does, however, provide a legitimate starting point for journalistic investigation.

What happened afterward?

What obstacles affected implementation?

Which components progressed?

Which communities benefited?

What remains unfinished?

And what will remain five years after the financing period?

International Funding Does Not End With the Last Payment

Another important issue is the relationship between donor financing and local responsibility.

International development partners may finance infrastructure, technical assistance, training or institutional reform.

But once the project ends, national or regional institutions may become responsible for operation and maintenance.

This transition can determine whether a project produces durable benefits.

A newly constructed facility requires maintenance.

A water system requires management.

Agricultural equipment requires technical support and replacement parts.

Digital systems require updates.

Training programmes require institutions capable of continuing the work.

Without a sustainable institutional structure, a successful project at the moment of completion can gradually lose its effectiveness.

This is why the investigation should examine not only the original funding but also the post-project budget.

Where Does the Money Go After the Project?

Tunisia's Ministry of Finance provides a public dashboard for development-related expenditure.

The platform allows users to examine development expenditure by mission, programme, sub-programme and project grouping, and provides downloadable data in formats including XLSX, CSV and JSON.

This creates an important journalistic opportunity.

Instead of simply asking how much money was allocated to a development programme, journalists can attempt to follow the financial trail.

How much was allocated?

How much was actually spent?

When was it spent?

Was the project completed?

Were additional appropriations made?

Was the project transferred to another institution?

What expenditure followed after completion?

Was maintenance financed?

This is where data journalism and field reporting can work together.

The International Donor's Perspective

International organizations also conduct evaluations of their programmes.

The United Nations Development Programme's independent country programme evaluation of Tunisia for 2021–2025, published in February 2026, specifically examined UNDP's engagement and identified opportunities to strengthen sustainability, integration and learning across interventions.

Such evaluations provide journalists with an important source of information.

They can identify what worked, what did not work as expected, what lessons were learned and where implementation challenges occurred.

But an evaluation is not the end of the story.

It can become the beginning of a local investigation.

If an evaluation identifies a challenge, what does that challenge look like in a Tunisian village or town?

If a programme reports positive results, do beneficiaries still confirm those results several years later?

If a project is declared sustainable, what evidence demonstrates that sustainability?

A Project Can Be Successful — and Still Need Investigation

Investigative journalism should not assume failure.

This is particularly important when dealing with development projects.

A journalist should not begin with the conclusion that donor-funded projects waste money.

Some projects clearly produce substantial results.

For example, UNIDO reported in May 2026 that the second phase of its PAMPAT programme supported more than 250 enterprises and 1,000 farmers in Kairouan, Nabeul and Testour, contributing to 566 new products and more than 3,600 jobs.

These are significant reported results.

But even positive results create further journalistic questions.

How many of those jobs remain after the programme ends?

How many enterprises continue to operate?

What happens to the farmers after technical support is withdrawn?

Are the products still being marketed?

Has the local value chain become self-sustaining?

The purpose of investigation is therefore not to attack development programmes.

It is to determine what remains after the external intervention ends.

The Field Test

The most important part of this investigation should eventually take place outside Tunis.

The research team can select a number of completed or recently completed projects in interior regions.

For each project, the investigation can create a simple post-project profile:

Project name

Location

Funding source

Original budget

Implementation period

Original objectives

Number of intended beneficiaries

Official results

Current status

Current operator

Maintenance arrangements

Current beneficiaries

Evidence from the field

Documents obtained

Unanswered questions

This methodology makes the investigation concrete.

Instead of discussing development in abstract terms, it follows individual projects.

The Voices of the Beneficiaries

Official reports provide one side of the story.

The people who live with the project every day provide another.

Farmers can explain whether agricultural support continues to benefit them.

Young entrepreneurs can explain whether business-support programmes created sustainable opportunities.

Residents can explain whether infrastructure improved their daily lives.

Local officials can explain the difficulties of operation and maintenance.

Civil society organizations can provide independent observations.

Contractors and implementing agencies can explain technical and administrative challenges.

International partners can be asked to respond to findings.

A strong investigation brings these perspectives together.

The Question of Visibility

There is another interesting dimension.

Some internationally financed projects are not always publicly recognized as international development projects.

A 2026 analysis by the German Institute for International and Security Affairs noted that European-funded projects in Tunisia can remain relatively invisible to the public, while other foreign-funded initiatives may receive greater public visibility.

This raises another question for journalists:

Does the public know who financed a project?

Does it know how much was invested?

Does it know which institution is responsible?

Does it know what results were promised?

And does it know how to evaluate whether those promises were fulfilled?

Development transparency is not only about money.

It is also about information.

From Funding to Long-Term Value

The central argument of this investigation is simple:

A development project should not be judged only by the amount of money invested or the number of activities completed.

Its long-term value matters.

A project that creates a functioning institution, sustainable employment, productive infrastructure or a continuing local economic activity can generate benefits long after the original financing ends.

But a project that depends permanently on external financing may face difficulties once the donor withdraws.

The distinction is crucial.

Conclusion: The Second Life of Development Projects

Every development project has an official life.

There is a launch date.

There is a funding agreement.

There are activities.

There are reports.

There is a closing ceremony.

Then comes the most important period for citizens:

What happens next?

The real test of development is not always visible on the day a project is inaugurated.

It can be seen years later.

Does the infrastructure still work?

Does the enterprise still exist?

Are people still employed?

Are farmers still benefiting?

Is the service still available?

Who pays for maintenance?

Who monitors the results?

And can the public still access information about the project?

These questions deserve systematic investigation in Tunisia's interior regions.

The objective is not to prejudge the success or failure of any project.

It is to compare promises with results, budgets with expenditure, official reports with field reality, and short-term achievements with long-term sustainability.

For journalism, this means following the money beyond the funding period.

For citizens, it means asking what remains after the cameras leave.

And for development policy, it means recognizing that the true measure of an investment may begin after the project officially ends.

By Barhoumi Mohamed Chaeib
Journalist & Researcher – Tunisia
ATEP MED – Arabic Digital Center for Media and Development

 

WHO OWNS THE INFORMATION IN TUNISIA?

An Investigation into Access to Public Data, Public Money and Government Projects

By Barhoumi Mohamed Chaeib
Journalist & Researcher – Tunisia
ATEP MED – Arabic Digital Center for Media and Development

Introduction: A Right That Exists on Paper

In a modern state, information about public money should not belong exclusively to government offices, administrative departments or officials.

It belongs, in principle, to the public.

Every dinar allocated to a public project, every major public investment, every infrastructure programme and every development initiative raises a legitimate question: what was planned, how much was allocated, who implemented it, what was achieved and what happened afterward?

For journalists, researchers and citizens, these questions are not simply matters of curiosity. They are part of the public interest.

Tunisia has established a legal framework recognizing the right of access to information. Organic Law No. 2016-22 of 24 March 2016 explicitly aims to guarantee access to information, strengthen transparency and accountability, improve public services and support public participation in public policy. The law applies to a broad range of public bodies, including ministries, public institutions, regional and local public structures and other entities covered by its provisions.

Yet the existence of a legal right does not automatically mean that obtaining information is always simple, rapid or practical.

This is where the real journalistic question begins.

The Information Behind Public Money

A public project rarely begins with construction.

Before a road is built, a hospital is renovated, a water network is extended or a regional development programme is launched, there are decisions, budgets, studies, contracts, schedules and administrative documents.

These documents tell the story of public expenditure.

They can reveal the original objective of a project, the estimated cost, the implementation timetable, the responsible institution and, in many cases, the results expected from the investment.

Tunisia's access-to-information legislation specifically provides for the publication of information concerning public programmes, budgets, achievements, public procurement and its implementation results, as well as information concerning public finances and public expenditure.

This creates an important principle for investigative journalism:

A journalist should not have to begin with rumours when documents can provide evidence.

The challenge, however, is knowing where the information is, whether it has been published, whether it is updated and how easily it can be obtained.

When the Citizen Becomes a Researcher

The right to information is not reserved for professional journalists.

Under Tunisia's legal framework, any natural or legal person may submit a written request for access to information. The applicant is not required to explain why the information is being requested. The law also provides different forms of access, including consultation, paper copies, electronic copies where possible and extracts.

This is significant.

A citizen who wants to understand a local development project should theoretically be able to ask for information.

A researcher studying regional inequalities should be able to request relevant documents.

A journalist investigating public expenditure should be able to seek records that help verify claims.

The question is therefore no longer simply whether the right exists.

The deeper question is:

How effectively can this right be used in practice?

The Distance Between a Legal Right and Practical Access

There is often a difference between having information available somewhere in the administrative system and making that information genuinely accessible.

A document may exist but not be easy to locate.

A public institution may publish information but not necessarily in the format most useful for analysis.

A project may be mentioned in a general report without providing all the details necessary to understand its actual implementation.

A budget figure may be available without sufficient information to connect it to a specific project or geographic area.

For investigative journalism, these differences matter.

A journalist does not simply need a number.

The journalist needs to know what the number represents.

Was it an initial allocation or the final expenditure?

Was the project completed?

Was the original timetable respected?

Was the contract modified?

Were additional funds allocated?

Was the infrastructure actually delivered?

Is it operating today?

These questions transform a document into an investigation.

Public Procurement: Following the Paper Trail

Public procurement is one of the areas where access to information can become particularly important.

A public contract can involve significant amounts of public money. The journalist's role is not automatically to accuse anyone of wrongdoing.

The role is to follow the available evidence.

Who announced the project?

What was the estimated cost?

What was the procurement procedure?

Who was selected?

What were the contractual deadlines?

Was the project completed?

Were amendments made?

Were additional expenditures recorded?

Were the expected results achieved?

These questions can be asked without assuming that irregularities exist.

That distinction is essential.

Good investigative journalism does not begin with a conclusion and then search for evidence.

It begins with a question and follows the evidence wherever it leads.

The Problem of Fragmented Information

One of the practical challenges facing researchers and journalists is that information can be distributed across different institutions and documents.

A development project may involve a ministry, a regional authority, a local structure, a public institution, a contractor and possibly an international financing partner.

Each may hold part of the story.

The journalist must therefore reconstruct the complete picture.

This is where research becomes more than collecting documents.

It becomes the work of connecting them.

One document may reveal the budget.

Another may reveal the timetable.

A third may provide the procurement information.

A fourth may describe the expected results.

Field reporting can then determine whether the situation on the ground corresponds to the documentary record.

The investigation is created by bringing these elements together.

The Role of Digital Transparency

The digital age has changed the relationship between citizens and public institutions.

A government website can potentially make thousands of documents accessible to citizens without requiring them to visit an administrative office.

Tunisia's access-to-information law provides for public bodies to publish and regularly update certain categories of information on their websites. It also requires information concerning access procedures and the officials responsible for handling access requests to be made available.

But digital publication alone is not enough.

Information must also be understandable, searchable, sufficiently detailed and usable.

A PDF containing hundreds of pages may technically be public, but a researcher may still face considerable difficulty extracting the information necessary for a specific investigation.

Open government is therefore not simply about putting documents online.

It is also about making information usable.

What Happens When Information Is Refused?

The law recognizes that access to information is not unlimited.

Certain exceptions exist, including situations involving national security and defence, international relations, privacy, personal data and intellectual property rights.

These exceptions are legitimate areas requiring careful consideration.

But they also make an important distinction necessary.

A refusal should not automatically be interpreted as evidence of corruption.

Likewise, the existence of a restriction should not automatically mean that the entire subject is inaccessible.

For journalists, the task is to determine precisely what information is restricted, why it is restricted and whether other non-restricted information can still be obtained.

This is why knowledge of access-to-information procedures is increasingly part of professional investigative journalism.

From Request to Investigation

An effective investigation can begin with a simple sequence.

First, identify a public-interest question.

Second, identify the institution responsible.

Third, determine what information should already be publicly available.

Fourth, submit precise requests for missing information.

Fifth, document the response.

Sixth, compare official information with other documentary sources.

Seventh, conduct interviews.

Eighth, visit the field where appropriate.

Finally, give the relevant institutions and individuals an opportunity to respond before publication.

This methodology protects both the journalist and the public.

It reduces dependence on anonymous claims.

It creates a documentary trail.

And it makes the final story stronger.

Why Access to Information Matters for Regional Journalism

The issue becomes particularly important outside the capital.

Regional journalism often has fewer resources than national media.

Yet citizens in interior regions also need information about public investment, infrastructure, health, education, transport, agriculture, water and employment.

A local road project may appear to be a small story from the perspective of national politics.

For the community concerned, it may be one of the most important public investments in its daily life.

The same applies to a health centre, school, water network, agricultural project or local economic programme.

Regional journalism can therefore turn administrative documents into stories that directly concern citizens.

The Unanswered Question

So, who owns the information in Tunisia?

Legally, the answer is not that information about public affairs belongs exclusively to the administration.

The 2016 access-to-information law establishes a right for persons to obtain information and explicitly links that right to transparency, accountability, public participation and research.

But the practical question remains more complex:

Can citizens and journalists obtain the information they need in a form that allows them to understand, verify and investigate public affairs effectively?

That is the question that deserves deeper field investigation.

The next stage is not another general discussion about transparency.

It is to test the system.

Select real public projects.

Identify the documents that should exist.

Submit documented requests.

Record the responses.

Measure delays and gaps.

Compare official records with what exists on the ground.

Interview citizens, journalists, researchers and public officials.

And publish the results.

Conclusion: Information Is the Beginning of Accountability

Public accountability cannot function effectively without information.

A citizen cannot meaningfully evaluate a public project without knowing what was promised.

A journalist cannot properly investigate public expenditure without access to documentary evidence.

A researcher cannot study development policy without reliable data.

And public institutions themselves benefit from clear and accessible information because transparency can strengthen public confidence and improve the quality of public debate.

Tunisia already possesses an important legal foundation for access to information.

The challenge for the coming years is to transform the principle into everyday practice.

For journalists, this means developing a stronger culture of document-based reporting.

For citizens, it means understanding that requesting information is part of civic participation.

For public institutions, it means treating accessible public information not as a favour granted to the public, but as an essential component of transparent administration.

And for investigative journalism, the lesson is simple:

Do not begin by asking who is guilty. Begin by asking what the documents say.

That is where serious journalism begins.

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By Barhoumi Mohamed Chaeib
Journalist & Researcher – Tunisia
ATEP MED – Arabic Digital Center for Media and Development