Thursday, 6 December 2012

Libya: Government still incomplete

Ali Zidan is still struggling to get his government up to full capacity. There is no indication yet that he has found replacements for those ministers who were ruled unfit for office by the Integrity Commission. The new premier may well be waiting for the appeals process to end before making any moves in this direction but this could take some time.
 
Zidan has also yet to nominate anyone to take over the post of Minister for Martyrs and the Missing. His first nominee, Sami Saeidi, resigned earlier in the month on the grounds that the government contained too many members with links to the former regime. This is an important portfolio for the Libyans, and the ongoing absence of a minister is likely to aggravate the frustration already felt by the thousands of families at the state's slowness in offering them proper compensation.
 
The Integrity Commission also still has to issue its ruling on Abdulsalam Mohammed Abusaad, Zidan's nominee for Awqaf Minister. Last week, the Commission complained that it still had not received Abusaad's file.
 
The longer the process of forming a government drags on, the more difficult it becomes for the Prime Minister to convince the Libyans that he has a credible cabinet that has what it takes to take charge and to change things on the ground. The government is rapidly coming to resemble a body that is being pushed around by the stronger forces that surround it, from the Integrity Commission, to the revolutionaries, to the General National Congress (GNC).
 
For more news and expert analysis about Libya, please see Libya Focus and Libya Politics & Security.

© 2012 Menas Associates

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