Fouzia Souissi to Echorouk: “Constantine commissionership is merely an interface for looting and squandering public funds”

The recent interview given to “Echorouk Forum” about the preparations for “Constantine, the capital of Arab Culture, by Sami Benkheikh Sheikh Al-Hussein, has touched off myriad adverse reactions.

The latter’s remarks were primarily directed against the former Director of communication, namely Fouzia Souissi, thus raising a bitter controversy over the background of her being dismissed, while likening her  to “Leila Trabelsi”, the wife of the ousted Tunisian President Zine Al Abidine Benali.

Mrs Souissi, who is now a senior executive at the higher national agency for publishing and advertising replied to the latter’s offending remarks and accusations in a statement to “Echorouk”

I submitted my resignation after unveiling a “lobby robbery”, she said.

The former communication manager for “Constantine, the Arab cultural capital”, Mrs Fouzia Souissi told Echorouk that she had decided to step down from her post on her own free will  contrary to what was falsely asserted by Sami Benkheikh lately at the forum.

“I resigned on 15 February 2015 without Benkheikh being knowledgeable about it  because some greedy and venal persons wanted to exploit my good reputation good in Constantine as a front to covertly plunder and squander at will public funds, a vile practice which I overtly rejected so many times”, she underscored.

“I didn’t get one centime during six months of hard work”, Souissi revealed.

She said she and the team did not get a single centime after starting to work with former Commissioner  Halima Henkour, and then with the new commissioner who was behind several forced resignations on the part of numerous members of the working crew.

“When the latter was allotted the necessary financial budget for the organization of the cultural event, and when the working team members asked for their wages, they were lamely told that a private communication agency will take over the payment but so far to no avail”, Fouzia Souissi also affirmed.

“Some shadowy and money-grabbing persons were disconcerted because I bluntly refused to “give my seal” to covert looting and fraud”, she further declared.

Mrs Fouzia Souissi also underlined in her statement to “Echorouk” that she had been subjected to heavy pressures after discovering she was in the midst of a covert “lobby of looting and squandering” as part of the Constantine cultural event, adding that they were utterly disconcerted because of her adamant refused to sign suspicious bills and documents including very inflated purchase invoices.

In addition, to similar illicit and blameworthy practices which she didn’t want to get involve in, she emphasized.

She also said that the Prime Minister himself must seriously look into this affair by ordering a thorough investigation.