TRIPOLI // Libya's interim government has proposed a draft law for electing an assembly to draft a new constitution - a first step to setting up a new government after the ouster of Muammar Qaddafi.
The draft, published Monday night on the website of the ruling National Transitional Council, would bar former members of Qaddafi's regime from running in the election.
It would even ban anyone with a degree based on academic research on the Green Book - Qaddafi's rambling political manifesto that laid out his theory of government and society declaring Libya a "republic of the masses".
Libya is facing serious challenges to build state institutions from scratch after toppling Qaddafi's 42-year dictatorship.
The interim government must set rules for the transition to democracy and forge some sort of national reconciliation among the huge numbers of Libyans who were integral parts of former regime.
One of the most serious and immediate problems facing the interim leaders is disbanding disparate armed groups of former revolutionary fighters, which are divided by the regions where the operate.
The regional militias, which played a major role in bringing Qaddafi down, are in charge of security in their areas in the absence of a strong and unified national military force. Clashes between the groups are frequent.
Some leaders are warning the militias that freed the country could yet drag it into civil war.
Fierce gun battles between the militias of Tripoli and the city of Misurata erupted Tuesday in the centre of the capital and left at least four fighters dead, said Tripoli's military council commander, Abdel-Hakim Belhaj.
The groups fought each other with machineguns, rocket-propelled grenades and anti-aircraft guns. Colonel Walid Shouaib, a member of the Tripoli Military Council, said the clashes were triggered by arrest of a Misurata fighter on New Year's Eve by Tripoli fighters.
He was suspected of robbery and the Misurata fighters were trying to free him.
The Tripoli council is affiliated with the national transitional government.
The head of the interim government, Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, said the government must take control of the situation.
"I warn Libyans from entering into a civil war," he said.
A Misurata military council member, Mohammed Al Gressa, said he too feared a civil war. He said commanders of former rebels and the Tripoli military council were meeting.
"I am not optimistic because blood has been spilled," he said.
"I feel this looks like a civil war."
Col Shouaib, said the tensions between the two factions began on the night of the arrest when a group of Misurata fighters tried to free the detained man, but failed. Instead, they were arrested as well.
A top Misurata commander managed to mediate the release of all the men except for the one arrested for robbery.
Another group of Misurata fighters made a second attempt to free the man on Tuesday. They opened fire on a building in the heart of Tripoli and used by the Tripoli military council.
After hours of gun battles, three of Misurata fighters and two from Tripoli armed men were killed, Shouaib said. However Belhaj said four were killed.
Witnesses said the Tripoli militia arrested six Misurata men, brought them inside the council building, beat them up and detained them.
In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland expressed concern over the violence.
"We want to see these issues resolved peacefully and resolved in a way that gives all Libyans confidence that they'll have a place in a future democratic Libya," she told reporters.
Pushing ahead with efforts to form a national army, Libya's interim rulers announced Youssef Mangoush, once a special forces commander Under Qaddafi, would become the new military's chief of staff.
The Libyan military, still recruiting fighters and undergoing an overhaul, has yet to establish itself as a central authority on the ground.
Gen Mangoush resigned from Qaddafi's military 10 years before the uprising in February. He joined with rebels in overthrowing the longtime leader. During the fighting, he was detained in the eastern oil port city of Brega and taken to Tripoli, where he was held for four months until the opposition freed him and others when they overran the capital in August.
Despite the tenuous security situation, the interim government is pushing ahead with plans for a transition to a new government.
The draft law sets out elections for a 200-member assembly, expected to be seated in June to write the new constitution. It is a first step toward forming a new government.
Libyans accused of rights abuses, corruption, business relations with Qaddafi's family members or regime officials would be banned from running in the elections if the law is passed.
The draft law allots 10 per cent of seats for women.
Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
%3Cp%3E-%20Diriyah%E2%80%99s%201.9km%20King%20Salman%20Boulevard%2C%20a%20Parisian%20Champs-Elysees-inspired%20avenue%2C%20is%20scheduled%20for%20completion%20in%202028%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20The%20Royal%20Diriyah%20Opera%20House%20is%20expected%20to%20be%20completed%20in%20four%20years%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20Diriyah%E2%80%99s%20first%20of%2042%20hotels%2C%20the%20Bab%20Samhan%20hotel%2C%20will%20open%20in%20the%20first%20quarter%20of%202024%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20On%20completion%20in%202030%2C%20the%20Diriyah%20project%20is%20forecast%20to%20accommodate%20more%20than%20100%2C000%20people%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20The%20%2463.2%20billion%20Diriyah%20project%20will%20contribute%20%247.2%20billion%20to%20the%20kingdom%E2%80%99s%20GDP%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20It%20will%20create%20more%20than%20178%2C000%20jobs%20and%20aims%20to%20attract%20more%20than%2050%20million%20visits%20a%20year%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20About%202%2C000%20people%20work%20for%20the%20Diriyah%20Company%2C%20with%20more%20than%2086%20per%20cent%20being%20Saudi%20citizens%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
England Test squad
Ben Stokes (captain), Joe Root, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Jack Leach, Alex Lees, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts
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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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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