By Sami Zaptia.
London, 30 August 2019:
The Ministry of Finance, aligned with the Faiez Serraj Presidency Council and Government of National Accord, announced yesterday that it had begun on Wednesday to hold meetings with various sectors and public treasury funders to discuss the draft 2020 budget.
It added that the discussions were conducted in accordance with a general vision based on the rationalization of spending (spending cuts) and orienting the budget towards a greater pattern of growth to contribute to the activation of the economy and to open new doors to the labour market to accommodate the high unemployment rates – whilst taking into account the basic principles and rules for the preparation of public budgets.
It will be recalled that Libya’s budget during the turbulent post-Qaddafi era are very politically contentious and are usually agreed and approved well into the fiscal year. The 2019 budget was approved in May.
https://www.libyaherald.com/2018/05/10/cbl-announces-agreement-with-pc-on-2018-budget-of-ld-42-5-bn/
Moreover, the political divide and contested legitimacy between the Tripoli executive and Tobruk parliament, the House of Representatives (HoR), has meant that it has taken mediation by the international community between the two Libyan sides (usually in Tunis) to reach agreement on the budget.
https://www.libyaherald.com/2018/05/11/details-of-2018-ld-42-5-bn-budget-revealed-first-budget-to-be-agreed-without-international-mediation/
https://www.libyaherald.com/2019/08/13/libyas-oil-revenues-up-by-ld-1-96-bn-to-ld-17-4-bn-on-budget-projections/
https://www.libyaherald.com/2019/03/20/libyas-2019-ld-46-8-budget-agreed/
https://www.libyaherald.com/2019/03/21/2019-budget-details-no-deficit-10-percent-budget-increase-25-percent-for-projects-foreign-companies-who-remained-will-be-given-special-treatment/
https://www.libyaherald.com/2019/02/28/ld-111-million-development-and-maintenance-health-budget-allocated-for-20-projects/
https://www.libyaherald.com/2019/01/11/budget-and-economic-reform-talks-held-in-tunis-by-libyan-sovereign-entities/
https://www.libyaherald.com/2018/10/30/sanalla-seeks-larger-2019-budget/
https://www.libyaherald.com/2018/05/10/cbl-announces-agreement-with-pc-on-2018-budget-of-ld-42-5-bn/
https://www.libyaherald.com/2018/04/18/2018-budget-referred-by-pc-to-cbl-and-audit-bureau-last-week-for-final-approval-this-week/
https://www.libyaherald.com/2018/04/09/serraj-spokesperson-promises-2018-budget-details-will-be-revealed-next-week/
