Calls to pursue fuel smugglers and their money
LIBYA – Khaled Bouzaakouk, head of the Benghazi Forum for Economic Development, has called for fuel smugglers to be pursued and punished and for their money to be tracked, raising the possibility of freezing their assets to stop what he described as the draining of Libya’s wealth.
Fallout from the financial row and preparing for winter
In comments to Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, Bouzaakouk referred to the recent row between the Central Bank and the National Oil Corporation (NOC), warning that its repercussions had gone beyond the inflationary shock of imports draining foreign currency and had sent negative signals to the market about a possible shortage of that currency, prompting people to hoard it as a safe haven.
He stressed the need to move beyond the debate over lifting subsidies and prepare for the coming winter, when fuel consumption rises, particularly of diesel, the most important input for bakeries, heating and power stations.
