By Sami Zaptia.
Tripoli, 14 August 2013:
The “government is not weak, incapable or asleep”, insisted Prime Minister Ali Zeidan at today’s press . . .[restrict]conference – the first since Eid.
Rounding up and reviewing recent events and government activity, the Prime Minister said that his government was “not asleep” and his “government’s weakness” reflects “the weakness of the whole Libyan state”.
Prime Minister Zeidan was referring to the criticism he and his government were receiving in the media and on social networking sites.
The state was “totally destroyed” – its apparatus, systems, roads, power cables were all destroyed during the revolution, he reminded the Libyan public. This included attacks on properties as well.
Zeidan complained that his government “found no army or police to work with”. He insisted that his government took action and passed laws and decisions.
He insisted that the government cannot function if the general public did not cooperate with it and asked for the public’s patience.
“We tried to re-energize the army and the police”, he said. For example, he said that when security forces charged with protecting embassies asked for vehicles, they were delivered. However, these security personnel do not stay at their work post – they disappear, Zeidan complained, saying that there was a problem of culture.
Zeidan insisted that “if there was anything that needed to be done”, his government had “done it”. “Things need time to be achieved”, he reiterated.
Referring to financial bureaucratic constraints, he said that his hands were tied. We cannot transfer money from one budget to another, he said again, complaining that the GNC is not giving him maneuverability with regards to juggling money within the budget. [/restrict]
