Head of the Libyan Parliament’s Finance Committee, Omar Tantoush said that the Central Bank of Libya (CBL) will not refrain from disbursing the budget of the new government. He added that it “represents a plan of action within the state.”
The MP added that the budget of Fathi Bashagha’s government focuses on the “disbursement of salaries, and the expenses of Chapters Two and Four to cover deposits, projects, and medicines.
In statements to Fawasel Media, Tantoush said that the CBL is “avoiding quarrels and works with high professionalism, and therefore there is no truth to the possibility of refusing the funding. What happened in the past is the existence of two parallel governments, but now the Libyan state is united.”
He explained that the “number specified in the budget proposal does not matter, and the important thing is to monitor the value of the budget.” He pointed out that the Parliament stressed “motivating the oversight bodies to follow up on the implementation and disbursement of these funds, according to what was allocated to them in each chapter.”
Tantoush noted that the salary law was completed and referred to the Parliament about two weeks ago, and in turn, will work to set a session for its approval.
On Wednesday, the Libyan Parliament unanimously approved the 2022 budget submitted by the new government, headed by Prime Minister-designate, Fathi Bashagha.
Spokesman, Abdullah Blaiheg said in a brief statement that the approved budget amounted to 89.68 billion Libyan dinars. He added that 98 MP’s attended the session, and voted in favour of the budget. Five others reportedly voted via a recorded voice message for the budget.
Parliament Speaker, Ageela Saleh said that the Bashagha government was granted confidence in accordance with the constitutional declaration, and based on a Libyan-led consensus. He stressed that “no party has the right to object to the government, or prevent it from carrying out its work.”
Saleh also warned against “obstructers” of the Bashagha government, especially the “regulatory and financial agencies, who must bear legal and moral responsibility for their actions.”
Bashagha welcomed the Libyan Parliament’s decision to approve his government’s 2022 budget. He said that this “represents a new stage that aims to unify state institutions.”
He said in a speech that “the approval of the budget means that public money has become safeguarded by the force of the law, and no party, including the government, is able to spend a single dinar except under the budget law.”