Libya parliament dismisses central bank chief
BENGHAZI Libya (Reuters) - Libya's elected parliament on Sunday dismissed the governor of the country's central bank, a parliamentary spokesman said. The bank's governor Saddek Omar Elkaber had failed to attend a session last at the House of Representatives to discuss alleged financial irregularities at the central bank, Faraj Hashem, a spokesman for the House said. It was not immediately clear how the House of Representatives would implement its decision. It has moved to Tobruk in the far-east of the country since an armed opposition group seized the capital Tripoli last month. The armed opposition, which is partly linked to Islamists, has reinstated Libya's previous parliament in Tripoli, in which the Islamists were much stronger. The central bank has tried to stay out of the political struggle but has been facing demands from both parliaments to approve budget payments. The bank is responsible for booking the country's oil revenues in its accounts. These make up Libya's only source of income for its budget. The dismissal of Elkaber will leave deputy governor Ali al-Hibri in charge of the central bank until a successor gets appointed. Elkaber is currently in Algiers for a conference of Arab central bank directors. Western powers and Libya's neighbours fear the oil producer will turn into a failed state or even face civil war as the government is unable to control former rebels who ousted Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
