Libya’s Culture of Corruption threatens the
Democratic Gains of the Revolution.
This week, the Libyan
Justice Minister Salah Margani urged the Attorney General to release the
newspaper editor Amara Abdalla Al-Khatabi who had been arrested on the
19/12/2012 following the publication of a list containing the name of 84 judges
allegedly involved in corruption.
The phenomenon of
corruption is neither new to Libya nor unique to the country. However,
comparing Libya to the rest of the world paints a grim picture. NATO estimated
that Gaddafi and his associates had around $150 billion stashed abroad. In
2012, Libya ranked 160th amongst
the 176 countries covered by Transparency International’s authoritative
Corruption Perception Index. An improvement from the previous year (2011: 168/176),
but it till classifies Libya as a highly corrupt country.
The scourge of corruption
has long been identified as a major problem by the new regime. As the leader of the National Transition
Council (NTC), Mustapha Abdul Jalil had acknowledged in that it would take
years to overcome the “heavy heritage’ of corruption in Libya. Yet, allegations
of corruptions surfaced during the turbulent period of NTC rule.
Two scandals emerged in
2012 surrounding funds set up to compensate revolutionary fighters and their
medical treatment abroad, respectively. Both funds were eventually halted due
to widespread misuse and fraud. Commenting
on the medical-fund scandal, former Interim Health Minister Fatima Hamroush clarified
the prevailing attitudes succinctly when she said: “there was a fear
from a dictator and that’s why order was kept without law basically. Law wasn’t
applied, but there was order. Now there’s no order, everything’s a mess because
there’s no fear”.
The scandals draw
attention to two issues concerning corruption in Libya. Firstly, they point to
the authorities’ ineptness
in curtailing corruption. Secondly, they highlight the prevalence
of a ‘culture of corruption’. The head of Libya’s Audit Bureau Ibrahim Belkheir
acknowledged the widespread nature of the problem amongst Libyans: “As they are so used to it, it does not seem to be corruption to them."
While
it is worth noting that this was a turbulent time for the country, the issue of
corruption and government’s will (or lack thereof) to tackle it remains in the
headlines. On 18/01/2013 Prime Minister Ali Zeidan announced a number of
measures taken by his administration to fight corruption. These included close
cooperation with the Audit Bureau, the establishment of a central bidding
committee to ensure transparency in contract awards, enlisting the help of the
secret service in investigations, and new measures to prevent irregular recruitment
of government employees. He also urged the Libyan people to play their part and
to report those who violate the law.
Zeidan’s government appears committed to
curbing corruption, at least on the surface. The Prime Minister’s 23/02/2013 surpriseannouncement about the sacking of a number of government officials allegedly involved
in corruption. Details and names have yet to emerge, but Zeidan did stress that
he “will not allow the misuse of public funds and I will take the
strongest procedures against corruption”. Due to the lack of details or
subsequent action, the statement should be seen as more than populist rhetoric.
It should interpret as a warning addressed to all officials including those
under investigations. Zeidan’s words have yet to turn to action as a recent
whistleblower case indicates.
The government seems
unable or unwilling to address public accounts of alleged corruption. The deputy
minister of Culture and Civil
Society, Ms. Awatif al-Tushani, announced her resignation on 7/02/2013
citing alleged financial and administrative irregularities in the
ministry. She claims to have raised such
issues to the Prime Minister, but no action was taken. Furthermore, reports
indicate that she was forced to resign and that her stand against dishonest
practices at the ministry made her a target for personal harassment.
A
more comprehensive approach needs to be taken by the Libyan Government. The International
anti-corruption group Global Witness says that the new government should learn
from the previous regime’s practices and implement reforms in Libya’s oil and
gas sector. The strategic importance of the sector and the prevalence of shady
practices in the industry make this the most important area for reform the new
government.
Global
Witness’ ‘blueprint for reforms’ (2012) should provide sufficient guidance to
prevent large-scale corruption in the new Libya. Their recommendations include
the promotion of transparency through the publication
of all existing and future oil contracts, to work with international audit
organisations to improve accounting and auditing practice within the National
Oil Company so that revenues can be accurately measured and reported on. Furthermore,
real commitment to transparency should be enshrined into Libya's new
constitution, and all current and future contracts should be subject to
parliamentary scrutiny.
Nothing
could indicate a stronger commitment to fighting corruption and illegal practices
than a comprehensive reform in the oil sector. Such actions would
not only promote an image of ‘responsible governance’ but would improve the trust
of Libyans in their nascent democratic institutions. It would also
facilitate a change in the entrenched
attitudes about corruption at both the institutional and individual levels.
