By Ajnadin Mustafa.
5 August 2015:
The head of the . . .[restrict]“government” in Tripoli, Khalifa Ghwell, has promised to sort out most of the problems affecting ordinary people within days.
Speaking on television last night in a bid to stave off growing public anger in the capital over the shortages, he said an extra 935 megawatts of electricity would be added to the national grid within a week.
He also pledged that flour would be delivered to bakeries and the bread shortage ended, delayed salaries would be paid, and that bank credits had been made available for the purchase of medicines which would be supplied to hospitals within three weeks. Extra supplies of fuel would be also be delivered to petrol stations and those without generators to pump the petrol would be given them.
Additionally, the problems of those in the south of the country without national identity numbers would be resolved, and passports would soon be issued via the internet.
The latter pledge relates to complaints from Libyans that they are being forced to pay bribes to obtain new passports.
It is not quite clear how this sweeping list of promises is going to be fulfilled, or why Ghwell’s government feels it can deliver them now when it has not been able to do so previously.
Ghwell is reported saying that as far as the electricity supply goes, 100 MW would come from the Iron and Steel works in Misrata (which has stopped production), an extra 130 MW from Khoms power station and 210 MW from Zawia power station, while 120 MW-worth of generators had been hired, and that Tunisia would export 250 MW and Egypt 75 MW. The figure totals 885MW but he also added that Sarir power station would also re-join the network this week.
His electricity minister, Nuredin Ali Salem, however, told the Libya Herald yesterday that Libya needed another 1,800 MW of power – almost double what Ghwell is promising – to meet current demand but that there was little hope of getting it. He also said that plans to import emergency generators had been opposed on grounds of cost. [/restrict]
