Libya’s Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah has formally raised considerations with Central Bank Governor Naji Issa concerning discrepancies within the financial institution’s monetary reporting for the primary two months of 2025, in accordance with an official assertion launched by the federal government and obtained by Libyan Express.
In his letter, Prime Minister Dbeibah famous that while the Central Bank reported a finances surplus of 9.6 billion Libyan dinars for January and February, the determine omits essential income from the 4.4 billion dinar payment collected on international forex gross sales. When these funds are correctly accounted for, the precise finances surplus reaches roughly 14 billion dinars, the Government Media Centre confirmed.
The Prime Minister’s evaluation revealed important disparities in international forex transactions. Whilst complete international forex revenues stood at $3.6 billion in the course of the reporting interval, complete expenditures and excellent obligations reached $6.1 billion. This quantity was distributed between $581.6 million processed instantly via the Central Bank and $5.537 billion via business banks.
Dbeibah challenged the Central Bank’s assertion that elevated international forex demand is primarily pushed by public spending. “This represents part of the truth, but not the whole truth,” the Prime Minister said, mentioning that public spending totalled simply $1.5 billion towards international forex revenues of $3.6 billion—making a optimistic stability of $2.1 billion.
Of specific concern is the persistent transitional commerce deficit of roughly $2.5 billion over the two-month interval, which Dbeibah instantly linked to financial enlargement throughout the economic system. He additionally expressed alarm on the unprecedented surge in international forex demand throughout late 2024 and early 2025, calling for better scrutiny of those transactions in accordance with Anti-Money Laundering Law No. 2 of 2005.
The Prime Minister emphasised that focusing solely on public spending as a method to regulate international forex demand “has not and will not lead to any solutions to stabilise the trade balance.” Instead, he recognized systemic points throughout the banking sector as the first concern, notably highlighting the continual enhance in business banks’ deposit liabilities that contribute on to financial enlargement.
Concluding his letter, Dbeibah careworn that Libya is navigating a vital interval requiring decisive motion. He referred to as on the Central Bank to implement measures guaranteeing full transparency in international forex knowledge and to submit month-to-month statements of the financial institution’s belongings and liabilities on to the Cabinet Council, as mandated by the Banking Law.
The change comes amid ongoing efforts to stabilise Libya’s economic system following years of political uncertainty and division.
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