The Central Bank crisis is still dominating the Libyan scene, amidst the ambiguity of the situation and almost absent solutions so far, which has caused significant effects on the exchange rate. So what does the scene look like today in the Central Bank, and where are things heading?
Regarding this, businessman and economic expert Hosni Bey told the “Ain Libya” network: “Libya has been going through one crisis after another since the political division and the division of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Libya in October 2014, and it culminated in a crisis over the legitimacy of assigning the management of the monetary authority to the Central Bank of Libya represented by its Board of Directors.”
The economic expert added: “The Central Bank’s crises are old and have been renewed since 2014 when the Board of Directors was divided into West and East. Despite hopes for joy in unifying the Board of Directors in December 2020, it was a joy that did not last. In 2023, the House of Representatives decided to limit the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Libya to (a governor and a deputy governor) with the two being granted full powers of the (Board of Directors).”
Hosni Bey continued: “After a year, we entered another crisis and the Central Bank’s Board of Directors ended up with the governor leaving the scene and leaving the country due to the assignment of the (Board of Directors) by the executive authorities.”
Hosni Bey continued: “It is true that the procedures according to the constitution and based on the constitutional amendment in the political agreement (Skhirat) and based on the articles of the law regulating the management of the monetary authority, including the governor of the Central Bank of Libya and the board of directors, are up to the legislative authorities and the agreement of the House of Representatives and the state, and unfortunately they have not agreed yet despite the passage of nearly 3 weeks since the outbreak of the crisis.”
He added: “We are all going through a crisis of confidence, a monetary crisis and a financial resources crisis due to the halt in oil production and exports, and the real victim of these crises is the citizen and the nation.”
He added: “The longer the crisis lasts without consensus to approve the mechanism of the Central Bank of Libya and resume oil exports, the more the value of the dinar will decline, inflation will rise, and the purchasing power of the citizen, including the general economy of the state, will collapse.”
Hosni Bey continued: “We requested immediate and rapid consensus to approve an integrated board of directors, whoever was chosen for the task,” adding: “Personally, I do not care about any title except that they have the capabilities to save what can be saved and get us out of the collapse.”
The economic expert said: “For your information, the weak point in the equation and the real and only victim is the impoverishment of 95% of the people,” adding: “The conflict between 1,000 people does not lose much, knowing that the beneficiary of the crisis does not exceed 1% of the people.”
“The Libyan dinar has lost 95% of its real value since 1982, when the dollar was worth 330 dirhams, and now the real price exceeds 7,000 dinars,” Hosni Bey added. “The 27% fee imposed on the exchange rate cannot be cancelled in light of the drop in oil prices to nearly $66 per barrel and the halt in oil production and exports by 81%.”
The economic expert concluded by saying: “To contain the crisis with the least damage to the economy and the financial sector, we demand that the House of Representatives and the state agree to approve an integrated board of directors for the Central Bank. I also hope that the governor will be an economist and most of the members (independent technocrats and economists), the deputy governor will be a banker and the rest will be at least one financial and one legal.”
Last updated: September 14, 2024 – 08:13
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2024-09-14 06:57:37