By Libya Herald reporter.
Tripoli, 3 October 2016:
Security considerations are not an acceptable reason for replacing democratically-elected mayors with military appointments, Faiez Serraj has told a forum in Tripoli.
Addressing the first forum of Libyan municipalities, the head of the Presidency Council was referring to the sacking of a number of mayors in the east of the country by the Major-General Abdul Razzaq Al-Nazhuri and their replacement by largely military figures.
No one, Serraj said, would be allowed to crush local democracy or the moves to decentralise administration.
For his part, UN Special Envoy Martin Kobler who also addressed the event, said that the Nazhuri’s move would be discussed at the Paris meeting on Libya today, Monday, of foreign minsters from 11 countries, including Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the USA and Italy.
The two-day event organised on Saturday and Sunday by the locla government ministry, was attended mainly by mayors and municipal representatives from the west of the country. It was also addressed by PC members Ahmed Maetig, Abdulsalam Kajman and Ahmed Hamza, and State Council deputy president Saleh Makhzoum.
Acknowledging the financial difficulties faced by the municipal councils, Serraj said that the PC was nonetheless determined to help them provide services to local residents. He also expressed his desire to visit every municipality throughout the country.
