Mohamed Al-Dharat, the head of the Libyan Foreign Bank, warned of the devastating impact of the financial crisis on living costs in Libya.
Al-Dharat stated on the sidelines of a roundtable on energy and infrastructure between Libya and Italy, organized by Energy Capital & Power in Rome, that consumer goods prices have risen significantly, with increases of up to 300% for some products.
This increase points to the substantial rise in costs in the parallel market, where the Libyan currency has lost much of its value.
Al-Dharat emphasized the severe impact of the crisis on business activities in the country.
He explained that traders and economic actors are facing difficulties; they are either unable to conduct business or unable to operate efficiently. The uncertainty regarding the management of the Central Bank of Libya and the lack of trust in financial transactions have paralyzed the economic system.
He confirmed that every day that passes without a solution exacerbates the situation, making it increasingly difficult to resolve the problem.
Al-Dharat noted that the prolonged financial crisis is pushing the country toward economic collapse and warned that each day of this crisis is equivalent to months of efforts to resolve the issues and clean up the resulting chaos.
He concluded by stating, “Something must change as soon as possible, or the situation will become unsustainable,” expressing hope for a solution before the situation deteriorates further.
