TRIPOLI (Reuters) – The Libyan state agency mandated to oversee government performance has called for suspension of public sector appointments and contracts due to an excessive wage bill.
The Administrative Control Authority (ACA) said the number of public sector employees in Libya had reached 2,099,200, with salary costs totalling 372 billion Libyan dinars over the past 12 years.
About 89% of Libya’s labour force is employed in the public sector, the World Bank said in a 2024 report, based on a 2022 survey.
The authority posted its call on Facebook on Tuesday evening, addressing the Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, who leads the government of national unity, and all bodies and institutions affiliated with his government. The government has yet to respond.
The public sector payroll in the oil producing country has increased by 104% in the last four years. It reached 67.6 billion Libyan dinars (about $13.70 billion) last year compared to 33.1 billion dinars in 2021, according to central bank data.
“(As the) public interest requires, you are requested to suspend all procedures for filling public positions (appointments – contracting) until they are reconsidered,” ACA said.
ACA is based in Tripoli and its powers include challenging appointments to public positions and improving accountability and transparency in Libya’s governance.
The authority said the rise in the number of public sector employees and their salaries is a result of “random procedures, which imposed financial obligations on the public treasury that the state was unable to fulfill.”
Many Libyans have had to queue at banks to get cash since the 2011 NATO-backed ouster of longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi followed by the east-west split of rival factions in 2014.
The oil and gas sector dominates the Libyan economy and accounts for the bulk of government revenues and exports.
(Reporting by Ahmed Elumami; additional reporting by Ayman Werfali in Benghazi; Editing by Ros Russell)
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