By Libya Herald reporter.
Tripoli, 3 January 2017:
The House of Representatives’ session questioning the Beida-based Thinni administration on its performance in office continued for a second day today with the focus on the country’s dire financial situation.
As well as Thinni, deputy prime ministers Abdulsalam Al-Badri and Abdulrahman Taher were also present.
During the proceedings, Ali Hibri, appointed by the House to be governor of the Central Bank of Libya, explained that there were insufficient foreign currency reserves to fund expenditure and that in any event, state employee salaries would account for the entire budget. There had to be urgent action to remedy the situation, he told members. The country was almost insolvent, he stressed.
Turning to the country’s electricity problems, Hibri said that $400 million could be borrowed at 2.5 percent interest to fund work on Tobruk power station but this would need the HoR’s approval. He, though, said he was opposed to saddling future generation with foreign loans.
As to the plummeting value of the dinar, he told members that this was largely due to speculation by currency dealers. He claimed there were about 200 of them who were making massive profits.
He was, however, optimistic that this year would see an easing of the monetary crisis along with help to start up small and medium enterprises.
The session was adjourned until next Monday.
Ageela Saleh, the HoR president, who was chairing the session has now gone to Tunis at the invitation of the speaker of the Tunisian national assembly for talks relating to Tunisian efforts to find a way out of the Libyan crisis.
