By Libya Herald reporter.
Tripoli, 30 January 2017:
Plans by the House of Representatives (HoR) to choose new members for their Libya Dialogue committee were again postponed today because of no quorum for the session. The reason for that, according to HoR spokesman Abdullah Bulaihak, was the continued holdout by Fezzan members over the parliament’s apparent lack of interest in the south.
Fezzan members offered their apologies but were insistent their complaints be looked at properly before they re-joined, he added.
The lack of a new HoR team has prevented Libyan efforts at dialogue from moving forward. The HoR refused to attend last week’s Libya Dialogue meeting in Hammamet, Tunisia, but said they would choose their delegates today.
The south has been hit particularly hard by the power outages that wreaked havoc elsewhere in Libya. The area continues to suffer from electricity shortages. In the past few days there have been sewage pipes bursting and flooding Sebha, which has led to protests from residents. Municipal councils in Fezzan recently declared the region a “disaster”.
Southern HoR members have demanded six points be met as a condition for them rejoining. These include the purchasing of new power generators to ease the power shortages in the area.
They also insist on the completion of the Obari power station, long heralded as a major cure to southern electricity problems. In fact, it was reported yesterday that Turkish construction company ENKA would indeed resume work, after a survey of the site expected in the next 3-4 weeks. The plant said to be is 98-percent complete.
The HoR refused to attend last week’s Libya Dialogue meeting in Hammamet, Tunisia and said they would choose their delegates today.
