Sadiq al-Kabir has been fired from his position as governor of Libya’s central bank. According to reports, this move is likely to exacerbate tensions in the divided North African nation.
In a decree issued on Sunday, August 18, Gov. Sadiq al-Kabir was removed by the presidential council in Tripoli, which is allied with the government of Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, which controls western Libya.
The council appointed economist Mohamed Abdul Salam al-Shukri, a former deputy governor, as the Central Bank of Libya’s new governor.
Since October 2011, when a NATO-backed uprising toppled Moammar Gadhafi, Libya’s longtime dictator, Al-Kabir had been in charge of the central bank.
He gained a lot of power and influence during that time, but he also had to deal with criticism from officials on both sides of the country’s political divide about how to allocate the oil money to Libya. Nevertheless, that criticism has demanded his removal.
Libya, which is rich in oil, is divided between rival authorities based in the east and a U.N.-supported government in Tripoli, the capital. Both sides have received support from various armed groups and foreign governments.
Oil revenue and foreign reserves worth billions of dollars are held by the Central Bank each year. It split in 2014 along the political divides in the nation.
While an eastern branch allied with military commander Khalifa Hifter was established in Benghazi, its internationally recognized headquarters remain in Tripoli.
However, the Supreme Council of State, a Tripoli-based advisory body, and Libya’s east-based parliament deemed al-Kabir’s removal illegal. The appointment of the person to the position should also be decided by the two bodies, not just the presidential council.
That’s according to the interim regulations that were agreed upon during talks to oversee the country’s reunification that were supported by the United Nations.
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