Central bank: Rival Libyan parliaments approve ‘unified’ development program
The central bank of Libya said that on Tuesday, representatives from the country’s two legislative chambers signed a deal for a “unified development program.” This is the first step toward bringing the country’s two different governments’ finances together.
Libya is a big oil producer, but its west and east are run by different governments that haven’t had a single budget in over ten years.
The Central Bank of Libya didn’t say much about the program, but in the past, development spending has been a big way for the competing governments to spend the billions of dollars they’ve earned from oil.
The bank said the deal “establishes a clear framework for unifying spending channels and allocating funds for development projects,” saying it’s “a proactive and necessary step to protect the macroeconomy from larger crises” .
The House of Representatives (HoR) is in Benghazi in the east, and the High State Council is in Tripoli in the west. Tripoli is home to the globally recognized Government of National Unity (GNU).
Through a process backed by the UN, the GNU was put in place in 2021 under Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah. However, the HoR no longer recognizes its authority.
The HoR was elected in 2014, and the High State Council was made as part of a political deal in 2015. It is made up of people who were elected to parliament in 2012, the year after Muammar Gaddafi was killed in a NATO-backed uprising.
