The Benghazi Appeal Court has annulled a financial transfer decision by the Libyan Government of National Unity, involving 90 million Libyan dinars, citing it as a misuse of public funds.
This action followed a petition by Prime Minister Osama Hamad, in his dual role as Minister of Planning and Finance, challenging the outgoing government’s end-of-2022 decision to reallocate funds between entities, which was deemed wasteful.
The court’s ruling invalidates the financial transfer, reinforcing a similar stance taken by the court in a prior ruling on April 27, 2023, which temporarily suspended the decision’s execution until a final judgment was reached.
Additionally, on February 20, the court had previously stopped a directive by Abdul Hamid Dbaiba, head of the Government of National Unity, that would have increased financial allocations by over 10 billion Libyan dinars.
The latest verdict on Tuesday by the court’s First Circuit on Hamad’s appeal against decision number (580) for the year 2023 is a significant moment in the management of Libya’s public finances.
Central Bank of Libya Governor Al-Siddiq Al-Kabir has linked the nation’s rising dollar price to the government’s unrestrained expenditure. In communication with Prime Minister Dbaiba, Al-Kabir criticized the government’s expansive fiscal policy, particularly focusing on consumption, which has inflated the demand for foreign currency and escalated government spending from 120 billion dinars in 2021 to 165 billion dinars in 2023, with a considerable portion directed towards salaries and subsidies.
Al-Kabir warned against decisions to increase salaries and grants, advising caution to avoid long-term financial instability.
