Al-Bilad program on 218News discussed Saturday the draft budget, and what the reservations of the House of Representatives on its provisions are, in addition to what is happening in the city of Murzuq.
Budget Draft
The member of Parliament’s Finance Committee, Abdel Moneim Balkour, indicated that next Monday’s session of the House of Representatives will be held in Tobruk and will be devoted to discussing two basic issues: the first is discussing the state’s general budget draft, and the second is the sovereign positions’ file.
He continued: “The draft budget, which was submitted to the Presidency of the House of Representatives on March 15th, was well studied by the Finance Committee and prepared a technical report on it. The House of Representatives was presented with a recommendation to return the draft budget to the government. Consequently, the government must abide by the remarks. The government took some notes, and the draft budget was submitted to the Presidency of the House of Representatives again. It will be deliberated next Monday.
With regard to the question about the most important reservations of the House of Representatives on the draft budget, he said the amount of the budget submitted to the House of Representatives is very large.
“This large spending will have a negative impact on the exchange rate. In addition to the fact that the Libyan economy does not have a budget of 94 billion Libyan dinars. This will not help the Central Bank of Libya to adjust the exchange rate. With regard to Chapter Three of the budget, which is estimated at 20 billion, for projects, noting that we are members of Parliament, we do not know what these projects are. What he presented to us is missing details.” He added.
Balkour explained that the approval of the budget, according to the constitutional declaration, needs a parliament quorum of 120 votes, but ut according to the internal regulations of the House of Representatives, they adopt the principle of an overwhelming majority; half of the members + 1.
Budget Controversy
Atia Al-Fitouri, an economics professor at Benghazi University, believes that the controversy surrounding the state’s general budget is due to the way in which this budget was prepared, which requires full clarity and more details about the projects. This information is missing in the budget provided by the government.
According to Al-Fitouri, regarding the subsidy issue, which jumped from 10 billion to 20 billion due to the increase in the exchange rate. As for the discussion of the budget by the House of Representatives, the economic expert who prepared it must be present for clarification.
Al-Fitouri rejects the issue of rapidly adjusting the exchange rate after adopting the budget. So that the exchange rate. It should stabilize where it is now due to its association with oil revenues. These revenues are controlled by external sources.
In the conclusion of his speech, Al-Fitouri called for a review of the salary law, given its discrepancy among state sectors.
Answering the question: What are the factors that contribute to the stability of the Libyan economy? He says: “The Central Bank of Libya must control inflation in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance and open credits in an organized manner.”
Murzuq is Occupied
The director of the Civil Society Commission, Wasim Tajuddin-Murzuq, said: “The city of Murzuq is afflicted and is now occupied by Chadian gangs, and those who have foreign plans and agendas.”
He continued: “The problem began in 1986, when the court ruled the municipality of Ouzou, which belongs to Chad, both land and people. The land has returned to Chad and the people live in Murzuq, and after 2011, and because of the violation of the southern borders, many Chadians entered by support of their cousins in Murzuq.
Since 2011, the city of Murzuq has been subject to displacement due to assassinations, killings and kidnappings based on identity.
“Our demands are renewed, which is to reveal the truth about what is happening in the city of Murzuq. This requires an international and domestic fact-finding committee. Unfortunately, this request was rejected by many (temporary accord).
