MPs in eastern Libya confirmed former interior minister Fathi Bashagha as the country’s new interim prime minister on Tuesday in a move that is likely to lead to rival parallel administrations.
Mr Bashagha’s predecessor, Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, once again refused to cede power except to an elected government and rejected the vote, raising the chances of conflict.
Parliament Speaker Aguila Saleh said 92 out of the 101 MPs present voted for Mr Bashagha’s government, but pro-Dbeibah forces once again mobilised in the capital Tripoli, calling for the dissolution of the House of Representatives and immediate elections.
Mr Dbeibah was appointed through a UN-led process in February last year on the condition that he lead the country until elections. The effort to replace him stems from Libya’s failure to hold its first presidential election during his watch.
A presidential election was scheduled for December 24, the day the mandate for Mr Dbeibah’s Government of National Unity ended.
However, disputes over the final list of candidates and security threats caused the vote to be postponed to an as-yet-unspecified date.
Mr Bashagha and Mr Dbeibah had both registered as candidates in the presidential election, as had Muammar Qaddafi’s son, Seif Al Islam — who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes — and Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.
Mr Bashagha’s new government includes three deputy prime ministers, one for each of the country’s three provinces as well as 29 ministers and six ministers of state.
There are only two women in the Cabinet, overseeing the Ministry of Culture and Arts and holding the position of State Minister for Women's Affairs.
Mr Bashagha appointed Ahmeid Houma, the second deputy speaker of the parliament, to lead the Ministry of Defence, and Brig Essam Abu Zreiba, from the western city of Zawiya, as interior minister. Former ambassador to the EU, Hafez Qadour, was named foreign minister.
The appointment of Mr Bashagha last month is part of a road map that also involves constitutional amendments and sets the date for elections within 14 months.
The move deepened divisions among Libyan factions and raised fears that fighting could return after more than 18 months of relative calm.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the body is closely watching the developments, saying “the ongoing political legislative process” must be transparent “and adhere to established rules and agreements”.
He also stressed the importance of maintaining the “calm and stability” that has been achieved since the October 2020 ceasefire agreement.
The UN mission’s mandate in Libya will expire in two months amid a series of issues for the new prime minister to handle. These include presidential and parliamentary elections, controlling Libya's many militias and foreign armed groups, economic investment and the unification of the security forces.
Civil war broke out in Libya after the Nato-backed uprising against Qaddafi overthrew him before he was killed. The country was split into two rival administrations, one in Tripoli and another in the eastern Tobruk. - Additional reporting by AP
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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