Tripoli, 19 March 2013:
The General National Congress has finally passed the government’s LD 66-billion budget. Announcing the vote, Prime Minister Ali Zeidan thanked Congress and said that all the projects that his government had promised the Libyan people could now be implemented. He also said that, as a result, companies involved in projects that had been stalled by the revolution could restart work.
Congress was due to vote on the budget on 3 March, but was prevented after a failed attempt to evict amputees who were occupying the main chamber. It was then supposed to be debated on 6 March, but members were then held hostage by armed demonstrators. As a result of that, full sittings of Congress were suspended for a week until security could be guaranteed.