Ahmad 
The conflict continues between the head of the outgoing “National Unity” government, Abdul Hamid Al- Dbeibeh, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Libya, Al-Siddiq Al-Kabir, which further complicates the economic situation in Libya.
Al- Dbeibeh sent a letter to Al-Kabir, demanding that procedures be submitted to implement the ruling of the South Tripoli Court of Appeal to stop the decision to impose a tax on the foreign exchange rate.
This came after the Cases Department of the Supreme Judicial Council notified the Prime Minister of the Dbeibeh government that it had begun procedures for implementing the court’s ruling and addressed the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Governor of the Central Bank of Libya in mid-May with the intention to implement the ruling in accordance with the legislation in force.
Last March, the Central Bank of Libya imposed a 27% tax on foreign exchange sales, based on a decision by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aguila Saleh, with the aim of providing revenues to repay the public debt and finance development projects.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Libya expected that the volume of demand for foreign exchange for the public and private sectors in 2024 will reach about $36 billion, while oil revenues for 2024 are estimated at about $24 billion, indicating a deficit of $12 billion.
Al-Kabir accused the Dbeibeh government of increasing spending in an ill-advised manner, which led to an increase in demand for foreign exchange and an increase in the value of the dollar, stressing that continuing with the same policies would lead to a financial deficit.
Al-Kabeer wondered how the government would finance the increase in salaries and grants in light of the decline in oil revenues
For his part, Al- Dbeibeh rejected these accusations and stressed that the economic situation is stable, criticizing the foreign exchange tax and describing it as unjust, calling on the Libyans to stand against the financial decisions that he considered unjustified.
Observers believe that the disputes between Al- Dbeibeh and Al-Kabir lead to confusion in the markets and an increase in the price of foreign currencies in the parallel market, and also cause a delay in the disbursement of salaries and financial dues, as happened recently in the grants of Libyan students studying abroad.
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