In a recent statement, the eastern government of Libya claimed it had reached a consensus on a plan to eliminate gasoline subsidies and would draft a mechanism to carry out the accord.

Additional information on the idea was not released by the administration led by Osama Hamad, a challenger to the internationally acknowledged Tripoli-based government.

However, it is uncertain if Hamad’s government would be able to carry out the plan in the divided nation.

According to the Global Petrol Prices online tracker, a litre of gasoline costs just 0.150 Libyan dinars ($0.03) in OPEC member Libya, making it the second-cheapest in the world.

Following an uprising against former ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, smuggling networks have thrived in the ensuing political unrest and armed fighting. In 2014, conflicting eastern and western governments separated the nation.

A World Bank analysis estimates that the annual value of fuel smuggling from Libya is at least $5 billion.

In a meeting with Mari Barrasi, the deputy governor of the Central Bank of Libya (CBL), located in Tripoli, and four members of the bank’s board of directors, Hamad in Benghazi supported the idea of removing subsidies.

The CBL’s Benghazi branch offices served as the venue for the conference.

The eastern parliament appointed Hamad in 2023 to succeed Abdulhamid Dbeibah, who had been put in position in 2021 under a U.N.-backed procedure that the parliament said had lost its legitimacy.

Dbeibah, who is located in Tripoli, stated in January that he will conduct a public poll on the topic of eliminating gasoline subsidies, but he hasn’t done anything about it since.

According to CBL figures, gasoline subsidies cost 12.8 billion Libyan dinars between January and November of this year. 4.8 Libyan dinars to $1 is the official exchange rate.

According to the mining minister, Nigeria has removed a five-year restriction on mining exploration in the northwest state of Zamfara, claiming improved security.

Due to frequent bandit raids, mining operations in Zamfara, which contains enormous amounts of copper, lithium, and gold, were halted in 2019.”The degree of insecurity has significantly decreased as a result of the security personnel’s enormous efforts, and since the exploration prohibition has been removed,

The mining industry in Zamfara can progressively start to contribute to the country’s revenue stream,” stated Mining Minister Dele Alake in a statement on Sunday.

He said that illicit miners had taken advantage of the state’s resources during the stoppage.

Rich in gold, limestone, and zinc, Africa’s largest oil producer wants its mining sector, which accounts for less than 1% of its GDP, to play a larger part in its efforts to diversify its economy away from oil.

It has implemented changes to try to attract investors, such as cancelling unused licenses, giving investors a 75% share in a new national mining firm, reducing unprocessed mineral exports, and ensuring adherence to laws against illicit mining.

Nigeria inked a training and development agreement with France at the beginning of this month as part of its capacity-building initiatives.

“We need all the support we can get, including technical, financial, and capacity-building assistance from abroad. This is not the first agreement of its kind; similar partnerships have been established with Germany and Australia,” Alake said.