Libya 2012 budget spending to reach 68.5B Dinars

Libya 2012 budget spending to reach 68.5B Dinars

Libya's government budget provides for up to 68.5 billion dinars ($52.7 billion) in spending this year, as the country tries to rebuild from last year's war which ousted Muammar Gaddafi.

February 29, 2012 1:32 by Reuters

A statement from Prime Minister Abdurrahim El-Keib’s office said the transitional government, appointed in November until elections in June, had met on Tuesday to discuss the 2012 budget.

“It was adopted and referred to the National Transitional Council for adoption,” the statement said, referring to Libya’s ruling body. “The budget estimate for this year is about 68.5 billion Libyan dinars.”

A government spokesman said the figure included reconstruction costs. The statement gave no mention of an estimated budget deficit.

In a newspaper interview earlier this month, the head of the National Transitional Council, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, said Libya would post a budget deficit of $10 billion this year as it struggles to pay public workers’ salaries and meet energy costs. (Reporting by Taha Zargoun and Ali Shuaib; Writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; editing by Patrick Graham)