According to experts, this comes amid institutional challenges and financial and economic turmoil plaguing Libya. The Libyan Presidential Council seeks to address past mistakes that have negatively impacted the state, especially in the energy sector. The committee comprises 7 experts in oil and finance and will conduct legal, technical, and financial reviews of contracts signed over the past five years. The committee will focus on verifying the compliance of these contracts with Libyan laws, ensuring national sovereignty is not compromised, and assessing their impact on public interest and national returns. It will also examine the compatibility of these contracts with the state’s needs, in coordination with regulatory, accounting, and legal bodies.
The committee’s work will include auditing contracts, particularly crude oil and fuel swap programs, and reviewing expenditure reports and supporting documents to ensure transparency. Additionally, the committee will assess the effectiveness of exceptional budgets and compare actual results with approved budgets, providing recommendations to reform or cancel unfair contracts and establish legal standards to enhance transparency in future bids.
This step comes at a time when Libya ranks fifth globally in the Corruption Index for 2024, according to Transparency International, with a score of 13 out of 100. This is due to weak oversight of government contracts and the conclusion of many contracts without transparency, facilitating the manipulation of public funds. Observers hope these reviews will help curb corruption and restore confidence in the energy sector, one of the most important pillars of the Libyan economy.
