On Sunday, Libyan Prime Minister Abdel Hamid al-Dabaiba announced the initiation of the construction of an oil refinery in the south of the country near the “Sharara” oil field in the Ubari region, at a cost of $600 million within three years.
Noting that it was a late project, Dabaiba said in a press conference from the headquarters of the National Oil Corporation in Tripoli: “Today we announce the start of a giant step, with the actual start of the construction of an oil refinery project in the south, which the people of the region have been waiting for for many years.”
But what is the reason for the “long wait” even though “financial coverage is available”, according to Dabaiba’s speech, and despite the government’s issuance in 2013, headed by Ali Zaidan, Resolution No. 766, which stipulated the establishment of a joint-stock company under the name “South Refinery for Oil Refining”?
big toes
In the estimation of the former Libyan Interior Ministry Undersecretary, Ambassador Hassan Al-Saghir, Dabaiba’s statement confirms what was reported “repeatedly” about obstructing the governor of the Brotherhood-backed Central Bank of Libya, Siddiq Al-Kabeer, for any decision that does not guarantee his continuation in his position.
He continued, “When the decision to establish the refinery was issued in 2013, foreign exchange reserves were not affected by the so-called “Libya Dawn” operation and the disasters that followed, and today, in light of a large financial deficit, and the end of a fiscal year without a budget, it was decided to finance the refinery.”
Al-Saghir expressed his concern that the project would not see the light of day. The presence of “Louis seeks hegemony over the south and its capabilities, and works systematically to ensure its subordination and to continue to blackmail it with everything that is vital to its people.”
In turn, the Libyan political analyst Al-Hadi Abdel Karim warned that Al-Siddiq Al-Kabeer aims to remain in his position in any way, and now he is shining his image with releases of amounts for projects, although he is the same person who spoke before that Libya is “on the verge of bankruptcy.”
Al-Kabeer fears that he will elect a president who can overthrow him, and he spoke to Abdel Karim, who confirmed that the size of the violations he committed would make him imprisoned if he was tried.
He cautioned that he is currently outside the country, as he seeks to secure an external ally, which could contribute to the “extension of his” position.
On Sunday, 12 parliamentarians submitted a request to Parliament Speaker Aqila Saleh to stop Al-Kabeer and refer him to the Attorney General’s Office to investigate the accusations against him contained in a report by the Audit Bureau of wasting one and a half billion dollars in the bank’s funds.
‘Impoverishment’ policy
Here, the spokesman for the Sebha Municipal Council in the south, Osama Al-Wafi, explains that the fuel shortage in the region has continued since 2014, as 99% depends on the Misurata warehouse.
He gave an example to “Sky News Arabia” on the impact of this on the lives of citizens, that they bear the cost of transportation operations, for example, a gas cylinder is sold from 2.5 to 5 dinars, while its price in the black market in the south sometimes reached 350 dinars, and from the warehouse it is sold for 20 dinars, and the more The farther the city increases the cost.
He also pointed to the monitoring of a large migration from the south to the coast, warning of the exit of cadres that the region lacks from health and education workers and university faculty members.
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