By Libya Herald staff.
Tunis, 28 April 2017:
Following appeals by the Mayor of Sirte yesterday that the Presidency Council (PC) do more to help rebuild the town, Mukhtar Al-Madani was in Tripoli today to ask for support from local government minister Bidad Gansu.
Yesterday, the mayor said Sirte was without public services and that over 2,500 homes had been damaged by fighting last year between Misrata-led forces and the so-called Islamic State (IS).
He cited a lack of medicines, nurses and medical staff, as well as of hygiene services, telephone connectivity, the internet, and electrical and water supplies. Madani also noted how educational facilities and as well as Ibn Sina Hospital were struggling to revive.
Airing the grievances to Gansu along with concerns that Sirte’s banks were struggling to reopen, Madani was told by Gansu that the PC would help deal with the issues.
He told Gansu, however, that the PC had to put forward solutions to help the people whose homes had been damaged. There had to be compensation provided by the authorities as well as long-term financial assistance.
He called for the formation of a committee that would set out a polict to regenerate Sirte.
While noting the total absence of state institutions in the town, Madani did point out that the hospital and the University of Sirte were in advanced stages of reopening.
Madani has only just begun working again following his mysterious kidnapping in February. The circumstances remain unclear with still no group claiming responsibility.
It is not the first time the mayor has accused the PC of showing a complete lack of interest in the town. In January, only 40 days into office, he accused the PC of ignoring Sirte as it struggled to deal with unexploded ordinance and grave conditions as families returned home.
