By Seraj Essul.
Tripoli, 23 April 2013:
The Head of the General National Congress (GNC) Budget Committee has said that cuts to infrastructure . . .[restrict]development and government salaries are necessary as the GNC overhauls expenditure.
Mohammed Ali Abdullah told the Libya Herald that Congress would soon be voting on a budget of LD 44 billion, a figure LD 24 billion lower than 2014 budget estimates revealed in March.
The LD 24 billion would not be completely cut but the GNC had been forced to review it, Abdullah said. A decrease in oil revenues caused by blockades on oil terminals and facilities over the past nine months prompted the decision, he added.
While Congress reduced spending on infrastructure projects and government salaries, it would restructure how money in those areas was allocated, he said. The GNC would also discuss mechanisms to give funding for building projects directly to municipal councils and targeting government employees who draw multiple salaries.
Abdullah added that the cuts would be mitigated by using previous years’ budget surpluses and loans from the Central Bank of Libya.
Of the LD 44 billion which has been agreed on, most will go on salaries (LD 18.7 billion), operating expenses (LD 8 billion) and goods and fuel subsidies (LD 13.2 billion). [/restrict]
