The Governor of the Central Bank of Libya (CBL), Saddek El-Kaber, has called on the Attorney General, Sideeg Al-Sour, to stop the continuous drain on the Libyan state of overseas health costs which create obligations on the Libyan state in violation of the public debt law. The CBL Governor called on the Attorney General to ensure that these health allocations reach those who deserve them.
The news was publicised by several local Libyan media sources last Wednesday claiming they were based on a leaked September letter from the former to the latter.
Allocations for Tunisia, Egypt, Turkey, and Jordan have run out
The letter to the Central Bank said that the head of the Department of Support and Development of Medical Services (DSDMS) had stated that most of the allocations transferred to Tunisia, Egypt, Turkey, and Jordan had run out, and that warnings were sent to the heads of Embassy Health Bureaux and that hospitals and clinics would stop providing services to Libyan patients.
LD 248 million transferred in 2023 for old debts, 87 million still outstanding
The Central Bank of Libya confirmed in the letter that in 2023 it had transferred more than 248 million dinars for accumulated old debts abroad, with new claims worth 87 million that have not been implemented to date.
Inflated expenditures and a defect in health spending mechanisms
The CBL pointed out that its previous experience in Turkey and Jordan had resulted in a 50 percent reduction of the original claims and the approval of the service providers after the audit and review work that the CBL had insisted on. It said this indicates suspicion of inflated expenditures and a defect in spending mechanisms.
Need clear mechanism, standards
At the conclusion, the CBL called for measures to be taken to clarify the situation in light of the absence of a specific mechanism or clear standard for determining the type of treatment or its beneficiaries abroad, not to mention the mismanagement of deposits allocated for treatment by referring them to embassies.
