The Central Bank of Libya (CBL)’s figures serve only as a rough guide, as the country has been politically and economically divided since 2014, with a rival central bank operating in the eastern town of Bayda.
CBL has announced that the country earned LDY 15.6 billion in oil revenue in the first six months of the year, accounting for more than 93 per cent of total income, reported Reuters.
Total spending was 16.88 billion dinars, more than total revenue of LDY 16.7 billion.
This has thrown the economy into crisis, contributing to a liquidity crisis and a sharp drop in living standards.
The Tripoli CBL said public salary payments made up 66 per cent of spending in the first half of the year, and subsidies 19 per cent, salary payments are expected to increase by LDY 4.5 billion in 2018 due to the inclusion of salaries under the eastern government.
The rise in oil production and prices since last year has put the Tripoli CBL and the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) in the capital under pressure to increase transparency about how Libya’s oil money is spent with eastern factions complaining that a large sum of the money goes to Tripoli’s powerful militias and to the east’s armed rivals.
