Benghazi, 17 September:
The government has transferred LD 13 million to Benghazi local council to help defray the costs of running the . . .[restrict]city.
The lack of funds has severely restricted the council’s room for manoeuvre. Last month the leader of the council, Shahat Awami, resigned over the lack of funding. Council spokesman Khaled Al-Jazwee told the Libya Herald at the time that there was just LD 2 million in the council’s coffers.
The gap between what the council had and public expectations of improved services following the council elections in May created strong public resentment against Awami, even death threats.
LD 13 million is, nonetheless, viewed as a small portion of what Benghazi needs. For just the first six months of this year, the local council in Tripoli, albeit with more than twice the population, was reportedly allocated LD 68 million by the government.
However, according to Osama Sharif, the director of Benghazi local council’s information office, the LD 13 million is specifically for the city’s operating budget. Capital projects in the city are the responsibility of the various ministries, he said. [/restrict]
