Tobruk_The Libyan Parliament has postponed the approval of the general budget until after it questions the Government of National Unity on June 29, the spokesman of the Parliament told reporters on Tuesday.
The government, which failed a few weeks ago to appear before the Libyan legislatures in a session dedicated to discussing the general budget in the city of Benghazi, now has to go further east to the city of Tobruk, the Parliament’s temporary seat, to do just that.
Many members of the Parliament have voiced their reservation about a large budget, more than 90 billion LYD, which they have been asked to approve for a government which will not exist after less than 6 months. The public are afraid that approving the budget as such is paving the way for corruption and mismanagement of resources.
There were three items for discussion on the Parliamentary Tuesday’s agenda including the budget. The second item focuses on the appointing of heads of seven sovereign institutions such as the Governor of the Central Bank, the head of the Audit Bureau, the head of the Administrative Control Authority, the head of the High Elections Commission, the head of the Anti-Corruption Authority, the Attorney General, and the president of the Supreme Court.
Because the ongoing dispute between the Parliament and the High Council of State on the nominations of these senior officials, the Parliament decided to refer the matter to the United Nations Mission in Libya regarding the recent statements and positions made by the head of Council of State Mr. Khaled Al-Mishri in which he his disavowal of previous agreements with the parliament in this regard.
It is expected that the Second Berlin Conference on Libya which will be held on 23 June will deal with it. The approval of the budget itself is tied by the majority of the parliament to the solving of this issue and thus the postponement of such approval until the parliamentary session of 29 June.
Regarding the third item of the agenda which deals with the approval of the appointment of the head of the General Intelligence Service by the Presidential Council, the parliament referred the matter to the Legislative and Legal Committee of the House to decide on its legal basis. This is because the Presidential Council did not consult with the parliament on such appointment with the House beforehand.