On Wednesday, the authorities in eastern Libya declared the foundation of a fund to rebuild Derna, a city devastated by terrible floods, as a meeting to discuss the first “projects” is scheduled for October 10th. The eastern government made the announcement in a press release, saying it had given its “approval to the creation of a fund for the reconstruction of the city of Derna and the areas affected” by the September 10th floods.
The Eastern government also said that it would organize an “international conference” on October 10th to help with the port city’s restoration, despite the fact that this was not acknowledged internationally. The conference, it stated on Wednesday, will “open the door for international companies to present the best-suited projects for the city’s nature and terrain”, contrary to its initial invitation to the entire “international community” to take part.
However, it did not indicate how the new fund would be financed, but Libya’s House of Representatives, also based in the east, has already allocated 10 million dinars ($2 million) for construction. The rival UN-recognized government based in the western capital, Tripoli has so far ignored these announcements and has not said whether it will send representatives.
According to the latest toll announced by the eastern authorities on Tuesday, at least 3,893 people died in the disaster. International aid groups have said 10,000 or more people may be missing. Libya has been wracked by division since a NATO-backed uprising toppled then killed veteran dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.
Libya has been riven by divisions since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 and is governed by two rival administrations: one in the west, headed by Abdelhamid Dbeibah, and the other in the east, embodied by the Parliament and affiliated to the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.
Riddled by internal strife since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya is governed by two rival administrations: one in the west led by Abdelhamid Dbeibah, the other in the east, embodied by Parliament and affiliated to the camp of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.
“Institutionally”, the eastern authorities “do not exist as they are not recognized internationally”, so “it is unlikely that countries will give money to the east”, Jalel Harchaoui, Libya specialist at the British Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), told AFP.
“In all likelihood, (international) funds would have to pass through Tripoli”, he said, stressing that the Dbeibah government was seeking to take advantage of the tragedy to unlock Libya’s foreign assets and investments.
Tens of billions of dollars of these assets, managed by the sovereign wealth fund Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), had been sequestered in 2011 by the UN to prevent misappropriation. The floods, caused by storm Daniel and amplified by the bursting of two dams upstream from Derna, have claimed 3,893 lives, according to the latest provisional death toll announced on Tuesday by the government in the east.