TUNISIA’S ENVIRONMENTAL MINISTER SACKED ON CORRUPTION CHARGES

Tunisian Environment Minister, Mustapha Aroui, has been sacked and arrested on Sunday over the shipment of hundreds of containers of household waste from Italy to Tunisia.

The shipment of hundreds of containers of household waste from Italy to Tunisia has raised suspicions of dirty dealings in a country that already struggles to manage its own refuse.

The saga began when Tunisian customs officials in the eastern port city of Sousse seized 70 shipping containers of trash in the early Summer, quickly followed by another 212 containers.

The containers were full of household waste, banned under Tunisian legislation and international agreements which consider them “dangerous”.

Environment Minister Mustapha Aroui was fired on Sunday by Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi, without any immediate explanation.

The customs service and the environment ministry have traded blame for the conundrum.

SOURCE: African News