Quoting Asharq Al-Awsat Newspaper, many people resorted to steal thousands of kilometers of high voltage cables from power poles as a result of the worsening economic and security conditions in the Libyan capital.
“Hardly a day goes by in Tripoli without the General Electricity Company announcing the theft of hundreds or thousands of meters of high voltage cables,” the newspaper stated.
Wednesday , Libyan Economy Minister Ali Al Essawi announced that, as Libya seeks to reduce its economic dependency on oil, mining in Libya can eventually become significant economic activity than oil production .
During an event at the Arab-British Chamber of Commerce in London, Al Essawi said that “Libya has gold, magnesium and iron ore”.
The Minister added that mining could eventually become more important than oil.
Because of the focus on oil, Libya has lost many other opportunities, according to S&P Global Platts.
Ali Al Essawi added that currently, Libya’s metallics mining industry is largely underdeveloped, although tests on samples and reserves are being undertaken by the country’s industrial research institution.
“We are trying to attract investment to areas other than oil. Oil in Libya is currently cheaper than water, partly because of the country’s subsidies to the oil industry, which are expected to be reviewed in a move to liberalize domestic oil prices and stem “huge” losses made in domestic energy generation.” the minister said.
“The great support we need is not money, but foreign investment and stock exchange support,” the Minister of Economy emphasized, adding that Libya’s economic growth rate this year is expected to be very low because the country’s oil industry is producing at its minimum capacity, reinforcing the need to diversify away from oil.
A man has blown himself up near the US embassy in Tunis, according to local media. Tunisian Radios reported that the man was a militant but did not provide any further details.
Initial reports stated that “an explosion has just taken place next to the American embassy in Tunis, at a check point.”
Dramatic pictures from the scene show a cordoned off area, with what looks like debris from an explosion around it. Footage apparently filmed outside the embassy also shows a large police presence in the area, with six armed officers patrolling the area.
In a statement, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) confirmed that Akakus Oil Operation Company’s headquarters on the airport road in Tripoli has suffered severe damages after mortar shells landed on the building, on the evening of Wednesday March 4, 2020 at around 21:30.
According to the National Oil Corporation, the shells caused a fire on the upper floor of the building designated for the financial resources archives. The National Safety Authority firefighting teams and the building’s protection team responded to the fire and managed to control it. As these civilian firefighters worked they were targeted with heavy weapons.
Chairman of NOC’s board of directors, Mustafa Sanalla, commented: “These criminal acts have reached another level by targeting Libyan firefighters. These men risk their lives to help people and preserve property. Fortunately, no one was injured and they managed to control the fire.
“Targeting our employees, or any civilian, is something that can never be tolerated. We call on all local and international bodies to take serious steps to immediately stop the fighting. This will save the lives of our workers and protect oil facilities, which are the property of the Libyan people.” added the chairman.
In a correspondence sent to the Chairman of Presidential Council Faiez Al Serraj, the Central Bank of Libya proposed a draft resolution on 2020 financial arrangements.
The Central Bank of Libya pointed out that the rest of the steps agreed upon during the meeting held at the bank’s headquarters on May, 3 2020 should be completed in order to face the current crisis.
It should be reminded that the meeting was held in the presence of the spokesman for the House of Representatives (HoR) in Tripoli Hamouda Sayala, the President of the High Council of State Khaled Al-Mishri, the Governor of the Central Bank of Libya Sadiq Al-Kabir , Tripoli-based Audit Bureau chief Khaled Shakshak, as well as the commander of the operations room, Major General Osama Al-Juwaili.
Through the correspondence, the bank clarified that the rest of the agreed-upon steps include, initially, a consultation so as to raise the value of the fee imposed on foreign exchange sales, in accordance with the mechanism provided for in the second article of the GNA Presidential Council’s resolution No. 300 of 2018 on imposing fees on foreign exchange sale in addition to the processing of subsidies file.
Hatem Al-Aribi, the spokesperson of Libya’s eastern-based government accused the Administrative Control Authority not only of violating the law, but also of misleading the Libyan citizens as well as the public opinion.
“The statement of the Administrative Control Authority did not clarify its non-compliance with the laws and decisions issued by the House of Representatives, except in what it considers in accordance with its interests.” Al-Aribi said, adding that “the Prime Ministry should be fully committed to implement the Law No. 6 of 2014 of restructuring the Supreme Court.”
Moreover, he confirmed that this matter shows that the Administrative Control Authority does not abide by, or respect the laws issued by the House of Representatives, although it is supposed to implement them.
Al-Aribi pointed out that the government addressed the House of Representatives in particular, while the Control Authority did not respond and did not reveal the truth to citizens by publishing false, illegal and misleading information to the public opinion.
Yesterday, Libya’s eastern-based government linked to Khalifa Haftar opened an embassy in Syria.
As a result, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement claiming that reopening Libya’s embassy in Damascus is “violating Libyan sovereignty”, adding that it will follow up legal measures and means to stop what it described as “tampering”.
As far as dealing with GNA’s opposite part violates the Security Council resolutions, the ministry called on the Security Council and the Penalty Committee to take the necessary measures.
Yesterday, Libya’s Finance Minister Fraj Bumatari claimed that the Tripoli-based government has reduced its 2020 spending plan to 40 billion dinars ($28.5 billion) because of the blockade of oil ports.
He added in a news conference broadcast live on television that the spending cuts were not in “sensitive areas such as health and education”. ($1 = 1.4009 Libyan dinars)
On Saturday, 14 March, the Conciliation and Arbitration Council of the Benghazi Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture will hold “the first international conference of conciliation and arbitration in Libya” under the slogan “The impact of arbitration and mediation on development, construction and investment projects’’.
The meeting will be held at the Ministry of Economy’s Garyounis Hall, Benghazi, with the participation of a group of arbitrators in the field of conciliation and international arbitration from local experts and some Arab countries.
The implementation of the judgment of the arbitrators and the supervisory role of the Libyan judiciary on conciliation and arbitration, along with the role of conciliation and arbitration in pushing development and investment projects will be among the major themes of this meeting.
According to Benghazi Chamber, the conference will highlight the role of conciliation and arbitration in driving development and investment. Moreover, it aims at localizing the role of conciliation and arbitration and spreading its importance in resolving contractual disputes.
Benghazi Chamber stressed that the conference will call for the development of the legislative and legal environment for arbitration in Libya and will review agreements and treaties related to development and investment.
Today, the Libyan Islamic Bank announced that the point of sale service will be suspended for the next two days due to a maintenance of the banking systems.
In a statement, the bank explained that, as a result of the maintenance and development work to be carried out by the Central Bank of Libya on the network equipment of the banking systems, the point of sale service will be suspended, and it is expected to be activated again next Sunday