Tunis, Oct. 31 (TAP)-President of the Republic Kaïs Saïed on Wednesday evening paid an unannounced visit to Henchir Chaâl and Bir Ali Ben Khalifa, in the governorate of Sfax, before heading to Kairouan.

"There is no question of giving up what belongs to the Tunisian people," Saïed said, assuring that "the fight against corruption will continue unabated," according to a Presidency of the Republic press release.

Kaïs Saïed met with citizens and listened to their concerns as part of these three visits, asserting commitment to fulfilling the citizens' legitimate aspirations in all regions of the country, the same source said.

During his visit to Henchir Chaâl (Governorate of Sfax), the President of the Republic visited a depot for defective equipment, where he criticised the negligence of those in charge and the lack of maintenance of the equipment belonging to this agricultural estate.

A meeting was held on this occasion with the estate's managers, during which the President pointed out that financial and administrative corruption has impacted on the farm's performance, weakened its employment potential and caused a decline in its sheep and cattle herds.

"The war against corruption is not just a slogan," he argued, affirming that the state has no intention of selling off the Henchir Chaâl estate, as some would like to do and are planning to do through calls for tender arranged by lobbies.

The second largest olive grove in the world, Henchir Chaâl extends over 5,187,24 hectares and employs 435 permanent staff and 385 casual workers. 

The grove, a property of the state which is in charge of management, harvesting, monitoring and olive oil extraction, is experiencing some difficulties.  

During his visit to the governorate of Kairouan, President Saïed took stock of the situation of the Aghlabid basins, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Accompanied by representatives of the local authorities, the President of the Republic announced that funds had been raised to carry out the necessary rehabilitation work on the monument under the supervision of military engineers.

He denounced the squandering of public funds earmarked for the monument since 2017, and called for the study and reporting phases to be speeded up before any work begins, especially as Tunisia has the necessary skills to carry out the work without the help of foreign experts.