Tunisia: Minister of Agriculture announces progress on Water Code project
Minister of Agriculture, Water Resources, and Fisheries, Ezzedine Ben Cheikh, stated on Tuesday at the Assembly of People's Representatives (ARP) that the draft Water Code was presented on February 25, 2025, during a small Cabinet meeting.
The Ministry of Agriculture has been tasked with amending the draft in coordination with the government's legal and legislative advisor services.
In response to a question from independent deputy Aouatef Chniti regarding the main axes of the revisions to the Water Code and the timeline for its presentation to the ARP, Ben Cheikh emphasized the need to expedite the finalization of the draft, present it to the council of ministers, and then submit it to parliament for review and adoption.
He added that the final version of the Water Code draft was developed after a series of in-depth discussions with various concerned ministries and all stakeholders, resulting in a comprehensive and balanced text that reflects national priorities for water resource management.
According to the minister, the amendments and additions to the Water Code draft include provisions aimed at treating water resources as a wealth that must be preserved and managed in accordance with good governance principles, as well as guaranteeing the right to drinking water and sanitation, in line with the provisions of the July 2022 Constitution.
The amendments also aim to ensure health security, enhance the economic and environmental value of water resources, promote national solidarity and equity in water distribution, and support decentralization in the management of public water resources.
Furthermore, the Minister of Agriculture highlighted that the Water Code draft consists of seven chapters, including guiding principles and general provisions, which form the foundation of the code, the identification and preservation of public water domain components, governance of the public water domain, use and exploitation of public water resources, provision of water services for various uses, management of water-related risks, and penal protection of the public water domain.
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