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Libya unity govt under pressure on security, economic reforms
TRIPOLI, Sept 29, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – A month of deadly clashes between armed
groups in Tripoli has stepped up pressure on Libya’s unity government to end
its reliance on militias and to implement economic reforms.
UN envoy Ghassan Salame stressed this week as a ceasefire came into effect
that “security cannot remain in the grips of the armed groups but must be in
the hands of the state”.
“It was the first time that the pro-GNA militias have been described (by
the UN) as undesirable and need dismantling,” said Jalel Harchaoui, a
specialist on Libya at Paris 8 University, referring to the internationally-
recognised Government of National Accord.
The GNA was set up under a UN-brokered agreement signed in Morocco in
December 2015 that raised hopes of an easing of the chaos that followed the
2011 NATO-backed revolution which ousted Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
But a rival administration based in the country’s east and supported by
military strongman Khalifa Haftar refuses to recognise the GNA’s authority.
Tripoli itself has been at the centre of a battle for influence between
armed groups with shifting allegiances, leaving the GNA dependent on the
support of militias for its security and that of the capital.
In exchange for their military support, armed groups in the capital have
infiltrated both political and military institutions in Tripoli.
After the latest clashes, calm returned to Tripoli on Tuesday following a
battle using heavy weapons that killed at least 117 people and injured more
than 400 others, according to official figures.
– GNA relies on them –
At the end of August, militias from western Libya entered the capital,
sparking the showdown with local groups.
Under the ceasefire terms, the GNA has committed itself to sever links
between state institutions and armed groups.
That is a tall order.
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“These groups were intelligent enough to penetrate the capital’s police
and economic institutions… The GNA works with them, depends on them, relies
on them,” said Harchaoui.
The GNA has set itself the target of eliminating “dysfunctions” in the
economy and banking sector that are exploited by militias as sources of
enrichment.
The main aims are to narrow the gap between the official foreign currency
exchange rate and the market rate, and to lift state subsidies on fuel in the
oil-rich country that open the door to traffickers.
– Corruption –
At the official rate, the US dollar trades at 1.4 Libyan dinars, but
because of Libya’s cash-starved banking sector, the black market rate is four
or five times higher.
The wide discrepancy encourages corruption.
Armed groups with access to dollars at the official rate can make huge
profits by then selling the hard currency on the black market.
In a move which amounts to a devaluation, the unity government has imposed
a 183 percent “tax” on the sale of foreign currencies.
As a result, the dollar, when it is available in banks, is sold at the
official rate of 3.9 dinars.
But Kamal al-Mansouri, a Libyan economy expert, said the impact would be
limited so long as the GNA and the eastern authority each run their own
central bank.
All parallel authorities must be abolished, he said.
Ismail al-Sherif, a deputy in Libya’s elected parliament based in the
east, said that for economic measures to take effect they would have to be
accompanied by political and security reforms.
“There’ll be no success at the economic level so long as tensions persist
and if weapons remain in the hands of armed factions,” he said.
Sherif said the way forward was a “restructuring” of the GNA, a delicate
process of UN-brokered negotiations between the GNA and its rivals in eastern
Libya.
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