An opinion piece published by Al Jazeera, authored by Tunisia's former Prime Minister (2020-2021), asserts that President Kais Saied's promised path to self-reliance has exacerbated the country's economic crisis. The piece highlights World Bank data showing economic growth at 0.2% in 2023, 1.6% in 2024, and an estimated 2.5% in 2025, which is insufficient to absorb the approximately 15% unemployment rate. Public debt has surged from about 67.8% of GDP in 2019 to nearly 85% in 2024. The Central Bank directly lent the Treasury about seven billion dinars in February 2024, as the state increasingly relies on domestic financing. The country is currently facing persistent electricity and water cuts, a collapsed health system, and severely diminished purchasing power.