Thousands of luxury items, including sports cars, jewellery and watches belonging to ousted Tunisian ex-president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali have been put up for auction in the country.


A fleet of luxury cars, a multitude of jewellery and dozens of works of art are just some of the myriad of items once owned by ousted Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali that have been put up for auction.

Ben Ali fled into exile in Saudi Arabia as protests swept Tunisia in early 2011 as the nascent Arab Spring uprising gained momentum. Many of his possessions were seized after he fled.

Tunisia recently marked the second anniversary of a street peddler's self-immolation on December 17, 2010, that led to a revolution in Tunisia and set the region on the path to uprisings in Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Syria and Bahrain.

Speaking at the opening of the auction viewing, Tunisia's Youth and Sport Minister Tarek Dhyab likened the former leader to a gang leader.

"This is only 20-30 per cent of the (Ben Ali's) possessions. I say poor Tunisia, it was controlled by a gang leader - not someone fit to lead a country," he said.


The Tunisian economy faces a number of challenges following the overthrowing of Ben Ali.
The economy shrank 2.2 per cent last year and though the government has forecast 3.5 per cent growth this year the economy is being hampered by high unemployment of around 17 per cent, declining trade with the crisis-hit euro zone and disputes between secularists and hardline Salafi Islamists over the future direction of the North African Arab state.

Social Affairs Minister Khalil Elzawiah said that all the money made from the sale would go to the country, but warned that the auction could not be compared to an oil well in terms of the revenue it would create.

"All the financial returns will enter the government budget which includes the regional development, infrastructure and investment projects generally, but to be clear it's not an oil well. The most important thing is not the financial return but the path of the revolution," said Elzawiah.


The government hopes that the sale will bring in at least 10 million euros.

Watch the auction video here> http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=lOnjVMlixo0
Source: Reuters


Now, my question is: why can't Nigeria do same? Seriously some of our past presidents' illy acquired wealths that kept Nigeria where it is today, should be auctioned while they are alive, and probably jailed too....virtually all of them...we need a strong-willed president to take this as his only one-point presidential agenda....