The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Industry and Minerals, Mustafa Al-Samou, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) yesterday with the Acting Minister of Local Government, Mohamed Bin Ghalboun, at the Ministry of Local Government headquarters in the presence of several municipal mayors.
The MoU was to implement the National Initiative for Stabilizing and Supporting the Bread Industry and is based on the outcomes of the Economic Policy Committee meetings.
To regulate and develop approximately 1,876 nationwide bakeries
The initiative aims to regulate and develop approximately 1,876 bakeries distributed across various regions and municipalities.
Linking flour quota allocations to the bakeries' actual production
It seeks to achieve this by linking flour quota allocations to the bakeries' actual production, thereby curbing the diversion of flour, fuel, and financial allocations, and ensuring that government subsidies reach the intended beneficiaries directly.
Launch of integrated electronic and field-based monitoring and oversight system
The MoU also stipulates the launch of an integrated electronic and field-based monitoring and oversight system. This system will operate through coordination between municipal Industry and Minerals offices, the Municipal Guard, the Bakers' Syndicate, and other relevant entities to ensure compliance with quality standards and proper weight specifications, as well as to guarantee stable bread supplies for citizens.
This step is part of a package of measures being taken by the Ministry of Industry and Minerals, in cooperation with government institutions, to regulate the food industry sector, enhance national food security, and alleviate the daily cost-of-living burden on citizens.
This summer’s bread crisis
It will be noted that this initiative is well overdue and comes on the back of this summer’s bread crisis.
Bread crises are a regular phenomenon in Libya because of an inflexible state subsidy supply and logistics system and mismanagement. Bread is subsidised on multiple levels in Libya through subsidised flour, diesel and electricity.
However, whenever there is a crisis in supply of any of the above, bread prices or supplies are affected.
This summer Libya has gone through an acute power cut and blackouts crisis which had a knock-on effect on the supply and price of diesel – the fuel used most by bakeries to operate their ovens.
This forced some bakeries to reduce the weight of a baguette, increase its price or close their bakery saying they cannot operate at the set prices.
Corruption surrounding subsidies
It must be noted that subsidies inherently attract corruption in Libya across all sectors. This includes the diversion of subsidised flour to patisseries, pizza-makers etc, and the diversion of subsidised diesel to the black-market where it can be sold at tens of multiples – without having to bake a single baguette.