Tunis — President of the Republic Kaïs Saïed on Thursday received Prime Minister Kamel Maddouri.

The Head of State underlined the need for certain officials to be fully aware of the fact that they are governed by the Constitution of July 25, 2022.

In this regard, President Saïed strongly denounced certain statements and practices which, he said, were not only contrary to the spirit of the Constitution approved by the people, but also in 'total disregard' of some of its provisions, which are clear and not open to ambiguity or interpretation.

President Saïed also raised a number of social issues, including those of construction workers, doctorate holders and compensation for loss of employment.

He called for 'radical solutions' to these outstanding issues, to ensure that the natural rights of all are respected.

With regard to the issue of doctorate holders, the Head of State gave instructions to proceed towards the resolution of this issue forever.

In this regard, recent data from the last meeting attended by the Ministers of Education and Higher Education and Scientific Research showed that it is possible, as a first step, to create some 5,000 jobs in a number of establishments and laboratories.

President Saïed further ordered that practical steps be taken to reschedule the unpaid debts of the still insolvent subscribers of the Tunisian Electricity and Gas Company (STEG) and the National Water Distribution and Exploitation Company (SONEDE), and to waive the resulting penalties.

Maintaining this state of affairs, he argued, would only worsen the situation and benefit no party.

Neither customers will be able to pay their bills, nor will the two companies be able to benefit from the water and electricity cuts, he explained.