Some 1,500 people were illegally recruited in a single public company which employs between 7,000 and 8,000 people," Head of State Kais Saïed pointed out on Tuesday. Speaking on the fringes of the ceremony commemorating the 71th anniversary of the assassination of trade union leader Farhat Hached, in the presence of Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT) Secretary-General Noureddine Taboubi and Minister of Cultural Affairs Hayet Guettat Guermazi, the President of the Republic underlined the need to preserve public enterprises while combating corruption and guaranteeing transparency in recruitment. He also denounced the quality of public services such as health and transport, as well as the cumbersome nature of administrative procedures. In this connection, he laid emphasis on the need to recover the money stolen from Tunisia and to ensure the proper management of public resources and companies. "We have all the resources and skills needed to create wealth, and under no circumstances will we give up our ind ependence and sovereignty," he argued. Community enterprises, which had been criticised by many, are also an important mechanism for creating wealth and jobs, and a form that has existed in several other countries such as the United States of America and China, the Head of State added. "We must give the people the means, the mechanisms and the necessary legal framework to help them draw up their policies and achieve their objectives," he said. Saïed also considered that the success rates in national exams show the map of poverty in Tunisia. "It is normal that a pupil who walks long distances to get to school and returns home late cannot achieve good academic results," he regretted. Kais Saïed also pointed to the need to guarantee women's economic and social rights, notably in rural areas. The UGTT General Secretary, for his part, underlined the trade union's attachment to public enterprises and to the sovereignty of the State, considering these to be two red lines. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse