Tunisia sacks energy minister amid anti-corruption drive

Tunisia's prime minister has sacked the energy minister and the head of the national oil company, the official TAP news agency has reported.

Youssef Chahed on Friday dismissed Energy Minister Khaled Gaddour and Mines Hachem Hmidi, who was the head of the Tunisian Oil Activities Enterprise, according to a statement.

The statement failed to a reason for the dismissals.

Tunisian news website Mosaique FM  said Gaddour, Hmidi and three other officials were dismissed over charges of corruption.

"An investigation has been opened into suspicions that a ministry official accepted a bribe from an Arab investor who was planning to launch an energy project in Tunisia," the report said.

Earlier this month, Chahed warned that corruption was rampant in "all fields" of the North African country.

Tunisia's parliament approved in July a new law designed to combat illicit enrichment in a bid to strengthen the government's fight against corruption.

The legislation will force the president, ministers, senior public sector officials, banks, judges, security forces, journalists and unions to declare their property.

The penalties for illicit enrichment include fines and five years' imprisonment.

Since the 2011 uprising, Tunisia has been held up by Western partners as a model of democracy for the region.

Economic progress has lagged, though, and corruption remains a major problem in the North African state.