Libya's rival central bank branches reunite

TRIPOLI

Libya's central bank has announced that its two rival branches in the west and east are reuniting after nearly a decade apart.

The North African country is currently split between Abdelhamid Dbeibah's U.N.-backed government in the west and another in the east backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.

Libya has seen 12 years of stop-start conflict since the 2011 NATO-backed revolt that toppled strongman Moamer Kadhafi.

On Aug. 20, the Central Bank of Libya (CBL) said it has "again become a unified sovereign institution", in a statement issued by the governor and his deputy.

The bank had been split since 2014, between the internationally recognised headquarters in Tripoli and another in Bayda in the Haftar-controlled east.

Al-Seddik al-Kebir, governor of the Tripoli-based bank, and Marii Moftah Rahil, governor of the rival branch in the east, made the announcement after a meeting attended by consultants and directors of both branches.

The statement said they would "continue efforts to overcome the consequences of the division".

A process to reunify the central bank began in December 2021 after the split caused by power struggles between rival camps, as was also the case with other state institutions.

The Tripoli-based CBL oversees the substantial oil revenues of Libya, which boasts the most abundant oil reserves in Africa.

The financial institution is responsible for determining the distribution of funds among state and government entities.

The existence of two competing branches has hampered the implementation of a single monetary policy, and the Libyan dinar has fallen sharply since the 2011 uprising.