Tunis, April 4 — The Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Ahmed Hachani on Thursday approved a draft decree establishing the Office for the Development of the South and the Sahara (SDO) and regulating its administrative and financial organisation and working methods.
The creation of this office was ordered by President Kais Saied during his visit to the Noueil region of Douz in March 2024, in order to make regional development policies more effective and to boost development work in the Fourth and Fifth Districts.
The creation of this office is based on the Rjim Maatoug Development Office, which was set up under the 1989 finance law.
During the Cabinet meeting, the Minister of the Economy and Planning, Feryel Ouergui, in her presentation on the Office for the Development of the South and the Sahara, said that it will be a public body of a non-administrative nature, with administrative and financial flexibility, under the supervision of the Ministry of the Economy and Planning and based in Tozeur.
The new office will help to ensure that public investment is well channelled to optimise the use of all the natural and human resources of the southern governorates in order to develop these regions and integrate them into the national economy.
According to a statement issued by the Prime Ministry, the tasks of the new office will include the development of oases, organic agriculture, the exploitation of desert vegetation, livestock, especially camels, and the development of alternative and renewable energies (solar and geothermal).
According to the same source, the new office will also develop industries based on local materials, in particular the crystal industry based on desert sands and the gypsum industry, as well as developing projects that fall within the scope of alternative tourism, especially desert tourism, and creating new tourist areas that would enhance the natural, cultural and heritage assets of the regions concerned.
The new development structure will also work on the development of economic zones in the border areas, in particular the development of commercial projects based on local products.
In addition, it will contribute to the creation of production clusters between the governorates, helping to create competitive development poles in the interior provinces, reducing regional disparities, migration and job creation, and making the Sahara region more attractive for investment and settlement.
