{"id":252217,"date":"2024-11-28T12:45:51","date_gmt":"2024-11-28T10:45:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sada.ly\/en\/?p=252217"},"modified":"2024-11-29T12:48:14","modified_gmt":"2024-11-29T10:48:14","slug":"commenting-on-the-2023-audit-bureau-report-al-zentouti-critiques-state-management-and-fiscal-irregularities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sada.ly\/en\/commenting-on-the-2023-audit-bureau-report-al-zentouti-critiques-state-management-and-fiscal-irregularities\/","title":{"rendered":"Commenting on the 2023 Audit Bureau Report: Al-Zentouti Critiques State Management and Fiscal Irregularities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Financial expert Khaled Al-Zentouti penned an article in which he stated: \u201cThe 2023 Audit Bureau report spans 570 pages, each one deserving of a case, a prosecutor, a judge, a prison, prisoners, and a jailer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He highlighted that the report contains 19 chapters and 579 pages, mostly detailing negative aspects such as resource mismanagement, violations, and corruption. Al-Zentouti added that it barely includes any positive points, except for the Quranic verse:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“O you who have believed, fear Allah. And let every soul look to what it has put forth for tomorrow \u2013 and fear Allah. Indeed, Allah is Acquainted with what you do.”<\/em>
(Al-Hashr: 18<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This verse, according to him, seems like a subtle message from the bureau, as if saying: \u201cLeave judgment to the Creator, as punishment in this world appears unattainable.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key Highlights from the Report<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Al-Zentouti provided a financial and technical overview of the main points in the report:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Public Spending vs. Revenues<\/strong>:\n
      \n
    • Total public spending reached 174 billion LYD, while sovereign revenues were 175 billion LYD, indicating a positive balance (if the figures are accurate)<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Decline in Oil Revenues<\/strong>:\n
        \n
      • Oil revenues in 2023 dropped by 10 billion LYD (6%) compared to 2022, despite higher average daily production and crude oil prices.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Development Expenditures<\/strong>:\n
          \n
        • Allocations for development totaled only 24 billion LYD (13.8% of total spending), marking a 28% decrease from the previous year. This is far below global standards, where development spending often constitutes 60%-70% of total expenditures.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Wage Increases<\/strong>:\n
            \n
          • Salaries rose by 22%, reaching 62 billion LYD, representing 36% of total spending. Al-Zentouti labeled this as a wealth distribution against limited productivity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Subsidies<\/strong>:\n
              \n
            • Subsidies increased by 9% to 68 billion LYD, about 40% of total spending. A significant portion is smuggled abroad, including fuel sold in neighboring European countries at subsidized rates.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Oil Barter System<\/strong>:\n
                \n
              • Bartered oil transactions totaled 41.2 billion LYD, with no documentation at the Ministry of Finance or transparency regarding pricing mechanisms or procedures.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Public Debt<\/strong>:\n
                  \n
                • The central bank reported public debt at 84 billion LYD, excluding debt figures from the eastern region, highlighting the disjointed state of Libya\u2019s financial system.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                • Telecom Revenues<\/strong>:\n
                    \n
                  • Revenue from telecommunications amounted to only 506 million LYD (0.25% of total revenue), far below international benchmarks of 4%-8% of GDP.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Customs and Taxes<\/strong>:\n
                      \n
                    • Customs and taxes contributed a mere 1.6% of total revenue, reflecting the pervasive impact of corruption.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    • Central Bank Violations<\/strong>:\n
                        \n
                      • The report pointed to violations at the Central Bank and within the banking sector, undermining the core of Libya\u2019s financial system.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                      • Final Accounts<\/strong>:\n
                          \n
                        • The state\u2019s final accounts have not been closed for over 16 years, which Al-Zentouti described as evidence of dysfunction, comparing Libya to a “herd being led to the slaughterhouse.”<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                        • Audit Bureau Members Harassed<\/strong>:\n
                            \n
                          • Instances of officials attacking and expelling Audit Bureau members reflect the pervasive corruption and poor governance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                            A Call for Accountability<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

                            Al-Zentouti stressed that the report reflects a dire need for judicial oversight and extensive reforms. He remarked: \u201cThis report requires hundreds of prosecutors, judges, and correctional facilities to address violations across the legislative, executive, and municipal levels.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                            He concluded by noting the release of a separate report by the Audit Bureau in Al-Bayda<\/em> to the Speaker of the House of Representatives on July 30, 2024, and hinted that \u201cwhat lies hidden may be even greater.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                            <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                            Financial expert Khaled Al-Zentouti penned an article in which he stated: \u201cThe 2023 Audit Bureau report spans 570 pages, each one deserving of a case, a prosecutor, a judge, a prison, prisoners, and a jailer.\u201d He highlighted that the report contains 19 chapters and 579 pages, mostly detailing negative aspects such as resource mismanagement, violations, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":252218,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[553],"tags":[613,707],"class_list":["post-252217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-post-of-the-week","tag-libya","tag-report"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sada.ly\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sada.ly\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sada.ly\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sada.ly\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sada.ly\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=252217"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sada.ly\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252217\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":252219,"href":"https:\/\/sada.ly\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252217\/revisions\/252219"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sada.ly\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/252218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sada.ly\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=252217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sada.ly\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=252217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sada.ly\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=252217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}