Libya’s eastern-based government resigned on Sunday amid rising protests in a number of cities over deteriorating living conditions and corruption, the Tobruk-based parliament announced on its website.
Abdullah Al-Thani, the head of the government, which is not recognized internationally, submitted its resignation to the speaker of the Tobruk-based House of Representatives, Aguila Saleh, during an urgent meeting in which they discussed the protesters’ demands.
“The dual exchange rate is the biggest tragedy we have in Libya… Since 2011 until the end of the war, the official exchange rate has shifted higher than the market-determined parallel exchange rate, which means that there is a serious problem.” The Libyan businessman Husni Bey said during a televised interview for Libyan WTV channel and Tabadul Platform.
“The existence of multiple exchange rates is not only considered as the biggest legitimate theft, but also as the biggest problem… The dinar is only a symbolic internal currency, 90% of which is represented by the dollar… It is directly linked via the Special Drawing Rights’ methods which are the Dollar, the Euro, the Yan, the Renminbi and the Sterling.” He said.
The businessman pointed out that $24 billion had been spent in the previous year to cover the budget of 48 billion dinars. He also wondered about the reasons for selling 14 billion dollars at 1.40, and 10 billion dollars at 3.85 pounds.
“A scope for theft, conflict, and differences had been created by selling the dollar at less than the exchange rate parity.” Husi Bey added.
The National Center for Disease Control announced the recovery of 11,922 people with Coronavirus after the adoption of the new healing protocol, bringing the total cases of recovery to 12,100 recoveries.
The European Union maritime force enforcing the UN arms embargo on Libya said Thursday it intercepted and redirected a tanker headed for Libya after determining it was carrying jet fuel in possible violation of the ban.
The MV Royal Diamond 7 was en route Thursday from Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, to Benghazi, Libya, when members of the EU force’s Operation Irini boarded the ship 150 kilometers north of the Libyan city of Derna, the EU force said.
Delegates from Libya’s rival administrations have reached an agreement at talks in Morocco on criteria for appointments to their country’s key institutions.
Dubbed the “Libyan Dialogue,” the discussions brought together five participants from the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), which controls the capital, Tripoli and the northwest, and five others from the House of Representatives (HoR), based in the eastern city of Tobruk.
Following the meeting in Bouznika on Thursday, HoR’s Idris Omran read out a joint statement to reporters saying the delegates had agreed “the criteria, transparent mechanisms and objectives” for key posts.
He did not give further details but said the two sides would meet again during the last week of September to finalise mechanisms “that would guarantee the implementation and activation” of the agreement.
The naming of the heads of Libya’s central bank, its National Oil Corporation and the armed forces have been the main points of dispute, according to Libyan media.
Oil prices were little changed on Friday, but posted their second straight weekly loss as stockpiles rise around the world and fuel demand struggles to rebound to pre-coronavirus levels.
Both Brent and U.S. crude lost about 6% on the week after a series of signals that showed markets still have an abundance of supply. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait cut official selling prices to Asia, U.S. stockpiles rose and traders are booking vessels for storage.
Brent LCOc1 ended the session down 23 cents, or 0.6%, at $39.83 a barrel while U.S. crude CLc1 settled up 3 cents at $37.33 a barrel.
Coronavirus infections are growing in several countries, led by India, where the health ministry reported a record daily jump of 96,551 new cases on Friday, taking the official total to 4.5 million.
Turkey is in talks over oil and gas exploration in Libya, as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s administration seeks business opportunities in the conflict-ridden North African country.
Turkey and Libya’s United Nations-recognized government, which controls the capital Tripoli and other parts of the west, are discussing onshore and offshore energy blocks, according to a Turkish energy official, who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public.
Turkish officials also held talks with Libya’s National Oil Corporation about power generation and pipeline operations, the person said. The official did not specify whether the NOC was included in negotiations about energy exploration.
The Education Ministry has postponed the reopening of schools, in response to the advice of the Medical Advisory Committee for confronting Covid-19 to cancel classes set to start next Saturday for several education levels, including the junior certificate stage.
According to the Minister of Education, Mohamed Ammari Zayed, the classes will be delayed to reassess the epidemiological situation, adding that he would communicate with the Minister of Local Government to issue a circular to the mayors of municipalities, asking them not to take any decision to suspend classes, except after referring to the Ministry of Education.
It will reminded that the Tripoli Teachers Union has expressed rejection and concern over the Education Ministry’s decision to reopen schools as Covid-19 cases continue to rise in the country.
In a statement on Facebook, the union argued that the ministry’s decision was either appropriate or practicable, as the move was taken in lack of resources on the part of the State, and the ministry’s failure to abide by its pledges.
“Schools opened their doors in the absence of adequate support in terms of cleaning materials, water, masks, and sterilizers,” the union said, noting that sterilizing supplies were provided in limited quantities to students only, while risks to educators are being dismissed.
The statement also indicated that some of the temperature assessment devices distributed by the ministry do not work. Another concern is that there are no plans or a mechanism for applying physical distancing.
“The few schools that support the decision to restart classes is due to the fact that they are not significantly dependent on the State for financial support,” the union added.
Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) Chairman Mustafa Sanalla today 10 September 2020 set out the enormous opportunities which Libya offers to internationally competitive UK companies in its oil and gas sector. Projects worth many billions of dollars could be issued over the coming years if the current oil blockade can be lifted and a stable Libyan government established, he stated. The Chairman was addressing the influential Libyan British Business Council in London.
Yet, Chairman Sanalla also warned that UK companies could only benefit from a stable, rule-of-law environment in the Libyan economy if the international community helped Libyan leaders to create it. And in this effort, the UK had a crucial role to play, not just in reaffirming principles and publicly expressing support, but in actively pressing for solutions and countering those countries which wanted to control Libya for their own ends.
“We know that UK companies will win highly profitable business in the oil and gas sector in Libya if there is a level playing field. But not all of the countries involved in Libyan affairs at this point want to see a level playing field. The UK Government needs to take an active role in ensuring the current oil blockade is lifted. It needs to play its part in creating a fair and just Libyan society based on the rule of law if British companies are to thrive in the Libyan market.”
Scores of people protested in Benghazi on Thursday over power cuts and living conditions, witnesses said, burning tyres and blocking some roads in an unusual public show of dissent in the eastern Libyan city.
Electricity supply has deteriorated this year, leading to protests last month in Tripoli and adding to poor living standards amid a surge in cases of the novel coronavirus.
The most immediate cause of the worsening power supply is a lack of fuel for electricity plants. The LNA has accused the Tripoli-based National Oil Corp (NOC) of not importing enough fuel to operate the plants.
The NOC last month warned of worse blackouts in eastern Libya, saying the shortage was caused by the LNA’s months-long blockade of oil and gas facilities. It said imports of diesel to operate the plants were causing it “severe financial difficulties”.
