TRIPOLI, Sept 26 (Askume) – Representatives from Libya’s eastern and western legislative bodies signed a deal on Thursday at United Nations-sponsored talks to end a central bank leadership crisis that includes the appointment of an interim governor and deputy governor.
The deal could help ease the crisis surrounding the Central Bank of Libya (CBL) and its control over oil revenues, which has led to a sharp decline in Libya’s oil production and exports.
Rival factions agreed to name the central bank’s banking and monetary control director, Naji Mohamed Issa Belkacem, as interim governor. Mari Muftah Rahil Barassi, who was appointed deputy governor in 2023, has been named to continue in the post.
Rival deputies agreed to give them a week to approve the nominations. Interim governor Issa Belkacem will form the board within two weeks.
The crisis began last month when Mohammed al-Menfi, head of the Tripoli-based Presidential Council, replaced veteran central bank governor Sadiq al-Kabir, after eastern factions ordered Libya’s oil fields to halt production in protest.
Stephanie Cory, the acting head of the UN Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), said: “I would like to stress the urgent need to shut down the oil fields and end the disruption to oil production and exports and call for an early resolution of this issue.” The UN welcomes the resolution.
The legislative bodies are the House of Representatives (HOR) in Benghazi and the Higher Council (HSC) in Tripoli.
HSC representative Jalil al-Showaish described the negotiations as “long and difficult,” while HoR representative Abdul Hadi al-Shaghair said, “Without the joint efforts of the members of the two committees and the approval of the governor and governorate, the agreement would not have been completed.” he deputy.
Libya has been divided between rival regimes in the west and east since 2014 as it descended into chaos after a 2011 NATO-backed uprising ousted Muammar Gaddafi.
“This crisis has shown that all parties must avoid taking unilateral decisions,” Cory said. Such decisions not only increase tensions but also deepen institutional divisions.
Libya’s national oil company said on August 28 that oil output had fallen by more than half of normal. It has not released any new production data since then.
The North African country’s crude exports averaged about 400,000 bpd in September, down from less than 1 million bpd in August, according to shipping data.
(Paragraphs 6 and 10 of this article have been corrected to quote the acting head of the United Nations Mission in Libya (UNSMIL))
