Al-Bilad program discussed Tuesday the possibility of the parliament adopting the new budget submitted by the national unity government, which is estimated at 111 billion dinars, whether or not the Parliament can monitor and hold the government accountable.
Parliament member Saleh Fahima said: “It was expected that the government’s request from the House of Representatives would be to postpone consideration of the general budget for the purpose of making the required amendments to the third item and canceling the fifth item (emergency section).”
Yet, what happened is that the budget was presented with a number greater than the previous 111 billion and the emergency chapter has become six billion, after it was five billion in the past.
Fahima believes that the required amount is exaggerated, and the government should have struck a balance between what it wants and its capabilities to implement its plans.
He added: “The government did not present a clear plan and did not classify the third item. Unfortunately, our demands for the government to make the required amendments began to diminish in the face of street pressure, and we only want the location of these projects in any city, not numbers.”
He continued: “The only advantage in this budget is to add the value of the adjusted salaries for some sectors to the first item.”
Answering Al-Bilad question”: As long as the government has not presented a clear plan on the budget, can Parliament actually monitor it? Fahima replied: “If the government went in the direction of financial arrangements, this means that it is not recognized by the House of Representatives and therefore will not be subject to oversight.”
Fahima does not believe that the government will go in the direction of financial arrangements, as long as it is granted confidence by the House of Representatives.
On the other hand, the expert in international relations, Fathi Al-Turbi, spoke about the performance of the parliament session Tuesday, describing it as “unsatisfactory.”
He said: “Only two of the four proposals related to the constitutional basis will find a good resonance.There is a blockage in the Libyan political scene due to the performance of the UN mission, and the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum is an obstructionist body.”
Al-Turbi believes that this blockage could be an opportunity to open up to the outside world, meaning seeking assistance from international experts, with regard to the next stage, which will witness parliamentary and presidential elections.
Answering the question: Can the UN mission change its way of thinking about the Libyan crisis? He said: “The performance of the United Nations in Libya is poor, and the Libyan elites can impose their opinion on the UN mission in a manner that satisfies Libyans.”
He also called on parliament not to grant approval of the general budget to the national unity government.
