Latest news with #GovernmentOfNationalUnity
Russia Today
09-06-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
South African leader defends black economic empowerment policy
President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered a forceful defence of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) on Friday night, calling out its critics and questioning whether their opposition stems from fear or envy. Speaking at the Black Business Council's annual summit gala dinner at the Radisson Hotel and Convention Centre in Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni, Ramaphosa doubled down on the government's unwavering support for transformation policies aimed at redressing South Africa's deep-rooted inequalities. He reaffirmed plans to convene a national dialogue focused on tackling the country's most urgent socio-economic challenges — a process he said will be vital in shaping an inclusive and sustainable future. Ramaphosa argued that real economic growth will only be possible through meaningful transformation while highlighting the significance of the proposed Government of National Unity (GNU). 'Fundamental economic transformation is vital to the growth of our economy and the progress of our nation. This transformation is necessary if we are to unlock the capabilities of all our people and realise the full potential of our economy,' he said. He positioned the GNU as a platform for uniting stakeholders behind bold reforms that can drive change. 'Transformation is not a hindrance to growth — it is the engine of growth,' Ramaphosa said, underscoring the role of legislative tools such as the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) framework and the Employment Equity Act in building a more equitable economy. 'We must dispense with the false choice that we are urged to make between growth and transformation. Transformation is vital if growth is to be meaningful, inclusive and sustainable. 'Growth is essential if we are to effectively transform our economy. Our task is to ensure that we pursue both growth and transformation, in concert, with more vigour and to greater effect,' he said. While acknowledging progress, the president was candid about the stark racial disparities that persist. He noted that the average income of white households remains nearly five times higher than that of black African households — a gap that, in his view, underscores the continued need for aggressive policy intervention. 'We need to challenge the notion that black economic empowerment is a cost to the economy. We need to demonstrate that it is an investment in the economy. 'Now is not the time to abandon the measures we have put in place to drive is the time to move forward with greater purpose and ambition. 'We must use the lessons we have learned over the last 30 years to make our empowerment policies and programmes more meaningful and more impactful. 'They must be ever more effective drivers of inclusive growth and employment,' Ramaphosa published by IOL
The National
04-06-2025
- General
- The National
US plan to deport migrants to Libya 'will put them in extreme danger'
Plans to deport migrants from the US to Libya would put them in extreme danger and destabilise the already fragile North African nation, a report has warned. The Trump administration has been in talks to deport asylum seekers to Libya, as well as migrants living in the US who hold criminal records, though a judge has temporarily halted any removals. But a report from the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime (GI-TOC) has raised fears that any migrants sent to Libya face being put in violent detention centres where their lives would be at risk. The study's author Matt Herbert, head of research for North Africa and the Sahel, said Libya's competing governments – the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU) and the Government of National Stability (GNS) – both run migration detention facilities. These were set up to hold migrants, mainly from sub-Saharan Africa but also from the Middle East, who arrive in the country to pay people smugglers to take them across the Mediterranean, as part of an agreement with the EU nations to reduce migration. Conditions in the 'migrant detention facilities are extremely poor, with limited food and water and frequent overcrowding', says Mr Herbert. 'The centres are also sites of chronic and grave human rights abuses, which have been widely recorded over the years. Physical abuse, beatings, verbal humiliation and psychological torture are commonplace, and are often used during interrogations or as punishment.' Migrants also face extortion and kidnapping by 'predatory' criminal gangs, which involves 'torture until a ransom is paid'. In many detention centres 'guards systematically demand ransoms from detainees, under threat of torture or death, mirroring the actions of criminal extortion gangs operating elsewhere. 'In some cases, there is collusion with criminal gangs or armed groups that engage in similar activities outside the facility, with detainees being transferred off-site for the purpose of extortion.' Mr Herbert warns that 'migrants deported from the US risk becoming entangled in this' should the deportations eventually go ahead. His report also highlights the impact any deportations would have on the political situation in Libya, where there is 'significant anti-migrant rhetoric, both online and from key political actors'. Migration has become a 'lightning rod' for criticism of the Tripoli-based GNU government of Hamid Dabaiba and there was 'significant tension' when it was alleged Libya would be accepting large numbers of Palestinian refugees. 'If US deportations to Libya were to route to GNU-controlled areas, they would feed into the ongoing highly politicised debate surrounding migration in the region,' says Mr Herbert. 'This would pose a particular risk to Prime Minister Dabaiba, giving his opponents a potent line of rhetorical attack and poisoning public opinion against him.' The GNU's authority is challenged by powerful militias, so 'any perceived foreign pressure to host migrants could inflame public anger, put additional strain on Prime Minister Dabaiba and his already fragile governance structures'. When it comes to the GNS, the report states that the control of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar is more "robust", which would make deportations to there more manageable. But Mr Herbert warns 'they could embolden Haftar, a strongman whose forces have been repeatedly accused of human rights abuses, possibly incentivising him to pursue deeper military ambitions or political repression'. He concludes that: 'In short, deporting migrants to Libya – regardless of which faction accepts them – would not only endanger the people involved but also feed the systems of impunity and conflict that have long plagued the country.' After American officials had said the US military could fly the migrants to the North African country as soon as mid-May but stressed that plans could change, US District Judge Brian Murphy issued an order restricting their removal. When the proposals became public, both Libyan governments publicly denied reports that the US wants to send migrants to the country. Immigration rights advocates said in court filings that individuals potentially subject to deportation to Libya also included Filipino, Laotian and Vietnamese migrants. The relatives of one Mexican national have said he had been instructed to sign a document allowing for his deportation to Libya.
Arab News
03-06-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Libya's eastern-based parliament passed budget for its development fund
BENGHAZI: Libya's eastern-based parliament voted on Tuesday to approve a budget for its development and reconstruction fund, a parliament spokesperson and member said, although it is unclear if the money will be forthcoming given the country's divisions. The budget of 69 billion Libyan dinar ($12.71 billion) will be spread equally over three years, lawmaker Tarek Jroushi told Reuters, adding that the funds will be overseen by the parliament. Parliament spokesperson Abdullah Blheg earlier announced the approval of the budget in a post on X, without disclosing the budget amount. The fund, established in February last year by the eastern-based House of Representatives, has independent financial status, according to the parliament gazette. However it is unclear if the governor of the Tripoli-based Central Bank of Libya, Naji Issa, will hand over the money for the fund. The central bank, based in Tripoli, is the only internationally recognized depository for Libyan oil revenues, the country's vital economic income. The eastern development fund is headed by Belgasem Haftar, a son of military commander Khalifa Haftar. The Benghazi-based government of Osama Hamad is allied to Haftar, who controls the east and large parts of the southern region of Libya. The north African country's separate Tripoli-based Government of National Unity is headed by interim Prime Minister Abdulhamid Al-Dbeibah, who was installed through a UN-backed process in 2021.
Reuters
03-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Libya's eastern-based parliament passed budget for its development fund
BENGHAZI, June 3 (Reuters) - Libya's eastern-based parliament voted on Tuesday to approve a budget for its development and reconstruction fund, a parliament spokesperson and member said, although it is unclear if the money will be forthcoming given the country's divisions. The budget of 69 billion Libyan dinar ($12.71 billion) will be spread equally over three years, lawmaker Tarek Jroushi told Reuters, adding that the funds will be overseen by the parliament. Parliament spokesperson Abdullah Blheg earlier announced the approval of the budget in a post on X, without disclosing the budget amount. The fund, established in February last year by the eastern-based House of Representatives, has independent financial status, according to the parliament gazette. However it is unclear if the governor of the Tripoli-based Central Bank of Libya, Naji Issa, will hand over the money for the fund. The central bank, based in Tripoli, is the only internationally recognised depository for Libyan oil revenues, the country's vital economic income. The eastern development fund is headed by Belgasem Haftar, a son of military commander Khalifa Haftar. The Benghazi-based government of Osama Hamad is allied to Haftar, who controls the east and large parts of the southern region of Libya. The north African country's separate Tripoli-based Government of National Unity is headed by interim Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, who was installed through a U.N.-backed process in 2021. ($1 = 5.4303 Libyan dinars
Asharq Al-Awsat
30-05-2025
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Three Suspects Detained for Storming Libya's State Oil Firm, Attorney General Says
Three suspects have been detained for allegedly storming the Libyan state oil firm's headquarters in Tripoli, the country's attorney general said on Thursday, a day after its rival government in the east threatened to declare force majeure on oil fields and ports citing assaults on the firm. The National Oil Corporation is based in Tripoli under the control of the internationally-recognized Government of National Unity. The parallel government in Benghazi in the east is not internationally recognized, but most oilfields in the major oil producing country are under the control of eastern Libyan military leader Khalifa Haftar. The NOC has previously denied its corporation's headquarters were stormed, calling it "completely false" and quoted its acting chief as calling it "nothing more than a limited personal dispute that occurred in the reception area." But the eastern-based government has threatened to also temporarily relocate the NOC's headquarters to "safe cities" such as Ras Lanuf and Brega, both of which it controls, according to Reuters. "The public prosecution reviewed the evidence of the storming of the Corporation's headquarters, inspected the scene, reviewed the video footage recorded at the time of the incident and heard the testimonies of those present," the attorney general said in a statement. The three suspects were handed over by the defense ministry, which was asked "to arrest the remaining contributors to the incident," the attorney general said. The national output of crude oil in the past 24 hours reached 1,389,055 barrels per day, the NOC said on Wednesday, reflecting normal levels. Libya's oil output has been disrupted repeatedly in the chaotic decade since 2014 when the country divided between two rival authorities in the east and west following the NATO-backed uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
