On Wednesday, the Tripoli-based Audit Bureau chief, Khaled Shakshak, held a meeting with the Board of Directors of the General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL). They discussed possible solutions to the problems facing the electricity sector.
During the meeting, Shakshak stressed the need to rapidly outline a short-term plan to improve the current situation of the power grid as well the need to bring effective solutions to put an end to the continued power blackouts.
He also called on the company’s board to adhere to the standards of good governance, establish the requisite competence, and appoint a General Manager who will be entrusted to perform his tasks accordingly.
Reviewing the Libyan financial crisis since 2011, Shakshak said that Libya’s financial woes started with the three-year blockade of oil installations in 2014. He added that these blockades are still, unfortunately, repeated from time to time. The collapse of the international price of crude oil from over US$100 per barrel to under US$30 per barrel, has also reduced the Libyan state’s dwindling hard currency revenues even further. This crisis has been compounded by the political divisions in the country, and the multiple governments, instability of institutions, and state of insecurity.