Pride in Tripoli

Blog post | 29-11-2023 | Ewout Irrgang

Since the fall of the Qadhafi regime in 2011, Libya has had a reputation for turmoil and warring militias. But there is another side to Libya: the Libya that’s rebuilding to become a normal country again and the Libyan Audit Bureau (LAB) is playing an important role in its recovery. The Netherlands Court of Audit has been working with the LAB for the past year and I recently visited its President, Mr Kaled Ahmed Shekshek.

A delegation headed by President Shekshek visited the Court of Audit in The Hague last year and met with Dutch finance minister Sigrid Kaag and others. We also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to formalise our cooperation. A lot has happened since then. The Court of Audit is helping to identify internal integrity risks and the LAB is setting an example for the entire public sector. Auditors from the two countries are working together to strengthen the LAB’s performance audits. A similar project will be launched soon to enhance communication and stakeholder management. 

In view of the instability, all previous meetings had been held in The Hague and Libya’s neighbour, Tunisia. This time, however, President Shekshek invited me to Tripoli. We had to exercise some caution in view of the security situation but otherwise it was just a normal visit to a fellow supreme audit institution. Despite the instability, the Netherlands has had an embassy in Tripoli for some years and ambassador Joost Klarenbeek took pride in showing me round the building.

As they receive relatively few visitors, the Libyans greatly appreciated my visit. Both sides agreed that the cooperation had got off to a good start and that there were still a few points where it could be even closer. We discussed matters more generally with the under-secretaries for finance and planning. They told me they were working hard to replace the cash accounting system with an accruals system. The World Bank had advised them that that was better. I had to admit rather sheepishly that apart from Germany, the Netherlands was the only country in Europe still working on a cash accounting basis.

Mr Shekshek proudly guided me round the old city of Tripoli, where a start has been made with the necessary renovations. We visited the National Museum and the Red Castle Museum, which is hoping to open its doors again in a few months. We were very impressed, everything looked spick and span. Libya is moving on.

The situation in Libya will remain unstable for the time being. I have a lot of admiration for President Shekshek who is overseeing government expenditure and issuing critical reports when necessary in far more difficult circumstances than the Court of Audit in the Netherlands. I hope Dutch support can help the LAB continue its further normalisation of this proud country on Europe’s southern border in the years ahead.