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By Sami Zaptia.
London, 30 August 2020:
Libya’s Tripoli based Audit Bureau announced last Wednesday that it has referred to the Attorney General the results of its investigation into the causes of the country’s acute and ongoing power cuts.
It also recommended that former senior officials of the General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL) be prevented from traveling.
The letter, dated 19 August, went on to state that its investigation has come up with evidence that could prove deliberate negligence and mismanagement amounting to criminal offences.
It recommended that the travel ban lasts until the end of the investigation.
Attorney General requests passports of top GECOL bosses
In response to this request by the Audit Bureau, a letter has been leaked showing that the Attorney General has requested from the Passports Authority (Interior Ministry) to prevent a list of 17 GECOL employees from travelling, including the former CEO and Chairman of the company.
Analysis
It must be borne in mind that the issue of acute and continuous power cuts and ineffectiveness and possible corruption and mismanagement by GECOL is the topic of the hour currently in Libya.
It has become the barometer by which the Tripoli government is being judged and is at the heart of recent demonstrations that are threatening to split this government and bring the whole Skhirat Libya Political Agreement framework crashing down.
A move by the Audit Bureau and the beleaguered internationally recognized Faiez Serraj-led Libyan government in Tripoli against perceived corrupt GECOL officials may assuage some of the demonstrators’ anger and cool the current toxic political temperature down.
