On Saturday, the Presidential Council of the Government of National Accord (GNA) issued a decision to form a committee to review the expenditures made by the Ministry of Health during the two fiscal years of 2019 and 2020.
According to Resolution No. 565 of 2020, the committee is also tasked to submit a report on the outcomes of its work to the GNA Prime Minister Fayez Al-Sarraj, within 15 days of the decision date.
The committee is chaired by Abdel Salam Kajman, Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Council, Ahmed Hamzah, member of the Presidential Council, Faraj Boumtari, Minister of Finance, and Talal Muhammad Ajaj, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Health Insurance Fund.
Notably, Al-Sarraj announced the suspension of his Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha, pending an investigation, in a formal document published on Friday.
Sources said Bashagha’s temporary suspension may be due to an attempted plot against Al-Sarraj although the GNA said the official reasoning behind the decision was due to his ministry’s handling of the recent protests in Tripoli, in which excessive use of force was observed.
“Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha has been temporarily suspended” and will face an inquiry “on his statements about the protests and incidents in Tripoli and other cities,” the GNA stated Friday.
Demonstrations began last Sunday in Tripoli, the seat of the GNA, against poor public services and living conditions, and gunmen fired on the crowd. Similar shootings occurred on Monday and Wednesday.
Gunmen on Wednesday attacked a peaceful demonstration by “firing live ammunition indiscriminately,” Bashagha had said.