Libyans have been enjoying Ramadaan with feasts and fireworks – but soaring prices, a devalued currency and political divisions have left many with little to celebrate.
Fifteen years on from the fall of long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi, the country remains split between east and west, while shortages of goods, including fuel, disrupt daily life, despite Libya sitting atop vast oil and gas reserves.
During the Muslim holy month of Ramadaan, shoppers stock up on treats, as families gather for lavish meals before and after the daytime fast that stretches from sunrise to sunset.
But this year, supermarkets have been rationing their goods, while many petrol stations are short of gas. In the capital, Tripoli, most ATMs were out of cash this week.
Firas Zreeg, 37, said while weaving through a crowded supermarket that the economy was deteriorating, blaming currency speculators for the fall in the dinar, “which has negative repercussions on our daily lives”.
The price of cooking oil has doubled in recent weeks, while meat and poultry prices have risen by half.
Refills of gas cylinders, officially priced at 1.5 dinars (about R4) but often unavailable through state-run distributors, now sell for 75 dinars on the black market and at times more.
Libya has struggled to recover from the chaos that erupted following the 2011 Arab Spring uprising that toppled Gaddafi.
It remains divided between a UN-recognised government based in Tripoli and an eastern administration backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.
The country has largely been stable in recent years, although there have been bouts of deadly violence, including the killing of Gaddafi’s son and heir apparent, Seif al-Islam, this month.
With security holding, many Libyans are more focused on their livelihoods.
Last month, the central bank in the western territory devalued the dinar –the second time in less than a year – by nearly 15%, “aimed at preserving financial and monetary stability and ensuring the sustainability of public resources”.
In an address this week, Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah acknowledged that the devaluation had once again “put the burden on citizens”.
Hanna Tetteh, head of the UN Support Mission in Libya, warned last week that “poverty and pressure on society [are] increasing”.
“The situation, in addition to the fragile security landscape, should be a matter for concern as such conditions can lead to unexpected political and security challenges,” she told the UN Security Council.
Libya’s other economic problems included the absence of a unified national budget, in light of its political divide, as well as uncoordinated public spending due to parallel state institutions, Tetteh said.
Revenues from the oil industry were also declining, she added, while the central bank has said public spending is growing at an unsustainable pace.
On Tuesday, Libya marked 15 years since the start of the uprising that eventually toppled Gaddafi, with fireworks lighting up the sky in Tripoli, but for many Libyans, life remains a struggle.
“Minor improvements in security were made over the past three years,” Zreeg said, but Libyans are still faced with huge economic challenges.
AFP
