TRIPOLI — Despite attempts by former deputy prime minister Mustafa Abushagur to quash allegations of monetary mismanagement by the transitional government, former prime minister Abderrahman Al-Kib, has now stepped in to set the record straight. Appearing on Libya Al Watania this week, Kib stated that his government had not misspent the 2012 budget. Kib said that the transitional government spent 37 percent of the allocated LD12.13 billion under “Chapter II – Operational Expenses”, and clarified that only LD102 million was spent on office outfitting, representing 2.29 percent of total expenditures from Chapter II. The topic of spending on office fittings and supplies has been widely discussed and ridiculed by Libyan media following an interview on Jan. 5 with General National Congress (GNC) President Mohamed Magarief, when he claimed the Kib government had spent LD5 billion on office furniture and stationary. During his discussion, the former prime minister said that the LD5-billion figure circulating in the news due to remarks by Magarief, represented the overall spending under Chapter II and included expenses to get the country up and running after the revolution. Kib also said that one cannot reduce 30 items in Chapter II, representing the governments daily expenditure in “all state facilities across Libya”, as mere office preparations and furniture, as was done by Magarief. Doing so, was “unconceivable both realistically and logically”, and Magarief ‘s statements, says Kib, have resulted in negative public opinion and tarnishing of the reputation of his government. On Jan. 8, after some criticism of his remarks, Magarief defended his words at the GNC evening session. According to Magarief, the figures he quoted were released during the transitional government's handover phase. The figures, he believes, indicated wasteful spending and should be reviewed by the audit bureau. As an example of spending under Chapter II, Kib gave the cost of LD1.433 billion spent by the oil ministry to bring back oil production to pre-war levels of 1.6 million b/d. Other areas of spending named by Kib were funds allocated to state schools, universities, hospitals and the “all important” rebuilding of state amenities including work to fix electrical shortages. — Libya Herald
