Politics

Legislative budget rejected by Libya’s High State Council

Published

4 months ago

July 12, 2024

The High State Council (HSC) of Libya, which is headquartered in Tripoli, rejected a budget that was passed by the parliament in the east on Thursday, threatening further division and public money waste.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives in Benghazi, Aguila Saleh, received a letter from Council head, Mohamed Takala, expressing the rejection. Journalists received it from the Council’s media office.

The 90 billion Libyan dinars ($18.5 billion) budget was passed by the House in two separate sessions; on Wednesday, the House authorized an additional 88 billion Libyan dinars.

The budget is for Osama Hamad’s government in Benghazi, which he established in March 2023. Hamad is associated with military commander Khalifa Haftar, who rules most of eastern and southern Libya.

The Council issued a warning, stating that “more division will result from the House of Representatives’ persistence in its transgressions and managing public affairs by its sole will.” A budget of over 179 billion dinars in Libya “is an unprecedented amount of money,” according to the Council.

Since the 2011 rebellion against Muammar Gaddafi, which was supported by NATO, Libya has experienced little peace, and in 2014, it broke up into rival eastern and western factions.

The United Nations supported the installation of Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah as interim prime minister in 2021, and he currently leads the Government of National Unity in Tripoli.

The High State Council was established as part of a 2015 political accord and selected from a 2012-elected parliament, whereas the House of Representatives was elected in 2014.

According to the rules of the 2015 political agreement, the Council, a consultative body, has a say in significant political affairs.

“Its complete rejection of what was approved in the House of Representatives session… and considers it to have no legal effect,” the Council emphasized in the letter.

In addition, it has urged all concerned parties “to challenge any laws issued by the House of Representatives in violation”.

Politics

Mauritius’ Prime Minister to double as Finance Minister

Published

21 hours ago

November 23, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In an effort to maintain a tight eye on the economy, Mauritius’ Prime Minister, Navin Ramgoolam, who took office this month following a resounding election victory, said on Friday that he would retain the position of finance minister for himself.

“We are doing an audit of the economy to see to what extent the outgoing government has destroyed it,” Ramgoolam told reporters in the capital Port Louis after he presided over the swearing-in of other ministers.

Ten years after he stepped down as prime minister, the seasoned politician returned to the position when his Alliance du Changement (ADC) alliance won 60 of the 62 seats in the national legislature.

The 77-year-old Ramgoolam said earlier this week that he would be auditing governmental finances. Before this, he was prime minister from 1995 to 2000 and again from 2005 to 2014.

Ramgoolam started a campaign in 2006 to streamline taxes and reduce bureaucracy to diversify the $10 billion economy beyond exports of sugar, textiles, and tourism.

Since then, the 1.3 million-person nation, which positions itself as a bridge between Africa and Asia, has developed into a major offshore financial hub and has been rated by the World Bank as the easiest location to do business in Africa regularly.

Politics

Mali’s junta names spokesman Abdoulaye Maiga new Prime Minister

Published

2 days ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

A day after dismissing Choguel Maiga for criticising the government, Mali’s governing junta named its spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, as Prime Minister on Thursday, according to state broadcaster, ORTM.

A source close to Choguel Maiga told Reuters that the ruling generals were incensed by Maiga’s remarks over the weekend denouncing the junta’s inability to hold elections within the 24-month timeframe given for the return to democracy.

After promising to hold elections in February, the military authorities, who took control in two separate coups in 2020 and 2021, have put off the poll indefinitely, citing technological difficulties.

Choguel Maiga’s firing coincides with indications of growing discontent and disarray among Mali politicians, even those who first supported the coup and collaborated with the junta.

As the wait for elections continues, Choguel Maiga, a civilian prime minister who was installed by the military junta in 2021, is the most recent to lose support.

He was cited on Saturday as claiming he learnt of the junta’s decision via the media and that there had been no discussion regarding the delay of the elections inside the cabinet.

“It’s all happening in total secrecy, without the prime minister’s knowledge,” Choguel Maiga told reporters.

Before then, he had frequently stood up for Mali’s junta against criticism from foreign friends and neighbours in West Africa who denounced its repeated election delays and military collaboration with Russian mercenaries.

As government spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, the new prime minister, has also made strong public remarks against France, the previous colonial master. One such speech was demanding French President Emmanuel Macron to stop his “neocolonial” and “condescending” behaviour.

Abdoulaye Maiga and Assimi Goita, the leaders of the junta, announced they had kept all of the important cabinet ministers in their portfolios in the new administration in a statement that was broadcast on state television ORTM.

The announcement said that Abdoulaye Maiga will remain minister of territory administration.