2024-03-28 14:10:44
The Governor of the Central Bank of Libya, Al-Siddiq Al-Kabir, said that the attempt to market a rosy picture of the national economy by saying that “it is very good” threatens the interest of the nation, the citizen, and future generations, and is misleading public opinion.
This came in a letter to the governor criticizing the speech of the head of the National Unity Government, Abdul Hamid Dabaiba, in which he presented numbers regarding the national economy, describing it as “very good and not in need of exceptional measures.”
Al-Kabeer explained that the country’s “liquid, usable” foreign exchange reserve is estimated at 29 billion dollars, adding that the number mentioned in Al-Dabaiba’s speech ($84 billion) is inaccurate and ignores the components of the number.
Regarding the public debt accumulated by previous governments, Al-Kabeer denied that there was a settlement regarding it, adding that it still appears in the Central Bank’s records with a total of 84 billion dinars.
Al-Kabeer pointed out that the number of workers in the public service is estimated at 2.2 million, or 31%, which is the highest in the world, according to Al-Kabeer.
Al-Kabeer predicted that the total expected spending during the year 2024 will exceed 165 billion dinars, “mostly consumer spending.”
While Al-Kabir expected that the total expected revenues during the year 2024 would amount to about 120 billion dinars, including 5 billion dinars in other sovereign revenues and an amount of 115 billion dinars, according to the message.
Al-Kabeer added that the expected deficit in public spending in light of the current situation is estimated at about 45 billion dinars, wondering: How will the government deal with this deficit and from what resources will it cover it?
The governor said that the Central Bank did not obtain a convincing answer about the reason for the increase in the fuel subsidy bill during the year 2024 and its justifications.
Al-Kabir said that imposing the fee was a measure that the bank was forced to take to control the parallel market in light of the previous data, the presence of a 50-dinar currency in circulation of unknown origin and quantity, and the growing demand for foreign exchange outside the banking system, according to him.
Al-Kabeer stressed that imposing the fee on foreign exchange sales is a temporary measure “in the absence of any reform measures by the government and with the lifting of restrictions on foreign exchange sales.”
What did the bear say?
A few days ago, Al-Dabaiba commented on the decision to impose a tax on foreign exchange, saying that the situation of the economy is very good and does not require any exceptional measures.
Al-Dabaiba added that the government pumped more than $75 billion into the Central Bank, “and this is equivalent to what successive governments saved over the past 6 years.”
Al-Dabaiba said that Aguila Saleh was alone, as usual, in issuing the decision to impose a tax on the sale of foreign exchange based on a proposal from the Central Bank, and citizens and merchants entered a state of doubt about that.
Al-Dabaiba revealed that the public debt that resulted from previous governments was liquidated after adjusting the exchange rate to 4.8.
Al-Dibiya announced that Libya had acquired for the first time since the 1970s 27 tons of gold in June 2023, worth about two billion dollars, according to him.
While Al-Dabaiba revealed that Libya’s foreign exchange reserves amounted to 84 billion dollars.
Al-Dabaiba confirmed that the government has no public debt, adding that they achieved more than 26 billion dinars in surplus.
Source: message + word
2024-03-28 14:10:44