GO chairperson resigns after being appointed economy minister in Tunisia

GO chairperson Samir Saied has resigned his post with the company after he was appointed a minister in Tunisia’s new Cabinet.

Saied was appointed economy and planning minister in Tunisia by newly-appointed Prime Minister Najla Bouden Romdhane.

The Cabinet was approved by President Kais Saied on Monday after he had sacked the prime minister, suspended parliament and granted himself judicial powers in a July power grab that opponents likened to a coup.

GO said in a company statement on the Malta Stock Exchange that its chairperson submitted his resignation from chair and director with immediate effect, following his appointment as minister.

Samir Saied was appointed chairperson of GO plc in May last year. He had occupied the post of chair and chief executive officer at Tunisie Telecom and the post of chairman of the BTK Group, a Tunisian affiliate of the French banking Group BPCE. 

On Monday, Bouden named Samir Saied as economy and planning minister, and Taoufik Charfeddine as interior minister.

She kept Othman Jerandi as the foreign minister and Sihem Boughdiri as finance minister – both had been appointed earlier by the president.

Many of the new members of the Tunisian government are new to the political scene and have never been part of political parties.

Bouden said on Monday that “the fight against corruption will be the most important aim” of the new government.

She also promised to “raise living standards” of Tunisians and “restore their faith in the state”.

But President Saied has significantly reduced the powers of her office and will technically head the administration himself.