Written by legal advisor Hisham Al-Harati
Amid the ongoing debate over what are known as economic regions or municipal groupings, it is necessary to start from a simple legal principle: the organization of the state is not carried out through statements, slogans, or reactions, but rather in accordance with legal texts and the competent institutions.
Law No. (59) of 2012 on Local Administration does, in principle, allow for the establishment of economic regions of a developmental and planning nature, and it does not refer to political regions or entities parallel to the state.
It also defines their development objectives related to planning, preparing studies, and proposing joint projects that extend beyond the administrative boundaries of local units. The law further establishes a clear pathway for their creation, starting with technical proposals and ending with a decision issued by the Council of Ministers in accordance with the legally defined procedures.
Accordingly, any discussion of an economic region must be understood within this legal and institutional framework, and not as an imposed reality or an alternative to the state or the general administrative system.
In my view, the deeper issue does not lie in the concept of development regions itself, but rather in the absence of constitutional and administrative stability within which such tools are supposed to operate. Development is not merely scattered projects; it is the result of a clear national vision, a stable administrative structure, defined competencies, and balanced relations between central authority and local administration.
Libya has previously known planning regions for development purposes and spatial and economic planning, and those regions were not political entities or independent power centers, but rather technical tools to organize planning and achieve integration between regions.
Therefore, the real debate that should occupy Libyans today is not about competing labels, but about how to build a constitutionally and institutionally stable state. The constitution is what defines the form of the state, regulates the distribution of competencies, and sets the general framework for local administration and spatial development. Engaging in major administrative arrangements before completing this framework often leads to more debate and confusion rather than practical solutions.
Development requires law, law requires institutions, and institutions require a stable constitutional reference. Anything beyond that remains fragmented interpretations that may generate wide discussion, but do not build a state or create sustainable development.
