Libya’s Minister of Planning, Mohamed Al-Zaydani said it was “necessary to have a Board of Directors for electricity, until the end of the current investigation period.” This comes amid Prime Minister Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba’s decision to dismiss the state electricity provider, GECOL’s Board of Directors.
Al-Zaydani said that the electricity crisis in Libya is raging, and not caused by the government. He claimed that since 2013, an estimated 11 billion and 862 million dinars was spent in the development of the electricity sector.
He added that the Tobruk power station was also covered by about 500 MW, cost 500 million dinars. “We have ongoing projects worth about one billion that are related to production, transmission, control and distribution, and we have about 977 million dinars.”
For his part, Dbaiba told Al-Zaydani that, ”these figures condemn you and condemn us, when people who do not have access to electricity hear them.”
Libyan cities witnessed several large-scale protests that started on Friday, calling for the downfall of all government bodies and institutions, as well as the departure of mercenaries. They expressed their rejection of the poor living situation, political divisions, and the lack of services.
On Saturday, Libyan activists vowed to continue their protests until “all the ruling elites step down from power.” They asserted that they would escalate their campaign by setting up tents in city squares, and declaring civil disobedience until their goals were achieved.
The demonstrations in Libya have taken place in all major cities of the country. Angry protesters set fire to the headquarters of the Libyan Parliament in Tobruk, after storming its main gate.
The United Nations called for calm, adding that “the time has come to listen to the demands of the Libyan youth.” The United States also expressed deep concern about the political, economic, and financial stalemate that led to the unrest in Libya.