Wednesday 23 May 2012

Finance minister threatens resignation

Libya's interim Finance Minister Hassan Zaglam threatened to resign this month over the ongoing saga of the revolutionaries' compensation file. It was Zaglam who suspended payments to the revolutionaries after he discovered gross irregularities in the lists that had been drawn up by local military councils of those eligible to receive the special payments for their services during the revolution.

According to Zaglam, the whole scheme, which was initiated before the interim government was appointed, is so enveloped in corruption that it is proving a major drain on the public purse.

After suspending the payments, Zaglam announced that no money would be paid out until the lists had been properly audited. Unsurprisingly, his decision has not gone down well with the revolutionaries, who are continuing to harass him and use violence against him and other government officials in a bid to get their cash.

Things have clearly got too much for Zaglam, who declared in May, 'I can't work in these circumstances. This is a waste of public money.'

For more news and expert analysis about Libya, please see Libya Focus and Libya Politics & Security.

© 2012 Menas Associates

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