Clan leaders of the villages surrounding Tobruk, in far eastern Libya, are leading a movement aimed at seceding their villages from Tobruk in order to fall within the municipality of Musaid, a boundary city which is, compared to Tobruk, small and with few resources.
Clan leaders of the villages surrounding Tobruk, in far eastern Libya, are leading a movement aimed at seceding their villages from Tobruk in order to fall within the municipality of Musaid, a boundary city which is, compared to Tobruk, small and with few resources.
Residents in these areas suffer the impacts of centralization, which has pushed clan leaders of Tobruk’s surrounding villages (500 kilometers eastern Benghazi) to call for administratively detaching their villages from the city Tobruk, and attaching their Directing Committees (DCs) to the Local Council (LC) of Musaid city, located near the Libyan-Egyptian border, and administratively attached to Tobruk.
These villages include those of Gasr Al-Jadi, Al-Khsheibat, Um Rekba, and Bo Ferjani, and have a total population of about 10,000. This was not the first attempt at such a scheme, the last one, in May 2012, but it was popularly rejected.
Hamed Saleh Abo Bakr, a Gasr Al-Jadi resident, was among those who rejected the idea.”Reviving the concept of foremen councils and enhancing clannish thought in the political process is absolutely rejected because the village DC was democratically elected in April 2011.”
A clannish starting point
Saleh Bo Akkosh, Head of the Gasr Al-Jadi elected DC, used even harsher words to describe the process. “It is political illiteracy, the dominance of the clannish influence, and the political front being occupied by clan leaders, having no awareness of its various dimensions, which impedes in the democratic transition progress that angers the youth.”
If detachment is inevitable, says Bo Akkobosh, Gasr Al-Jadi (with a population of about 5000) might likely become the administrative center to which other areas are attached, including Musaid, a boundary city where many political contradictions present themselves. Stability is dependent on Libyan-Egyptian diplomatic relations, he says.
Dependant attachment
“Whether Um Rekba is to be detached from Tubruk’s LC to be attached to that of Musaid or not is determined by its people” says Wanis Mastour, Head of Um Rekba DC, claiming that the village’s residents, estimated at 1700, support the decision.
Mastour added that a meeting was held between the head and of members of Musaid DCee and the influential men and sheiks of Um Rekba. “We agreed on attaching Um Rekba to Musaid; however, still there are no assurances nor official procedures at the government level in this regard.”
People are suffering
Explaining the advantages of the decision, Muhareb Bader, a writer and a political analyst from Gaser Aljadi, said: “As a short distance separates Musaid and Gasr Al-Jadi (90 kilometers), attaching Gasr Al-Jadi to Musaid LC is in favor of the village’s residents in terms of accomplishing administrative deals and job opportunities.”
Bader added that the procedure, if taken, would enable an equal distribution of Musaid’s budget on villages, as there would no longer be competition for allocations with a city as large as Tobruk, with is of a significant population of 120,000, and too long administrative boundaries reaching Jaghbub on the northern boundary with Egypt.
“The people suffer as a result of their village being far away from Tobruk, and therefore find the decision to be in their favor,” he affirmed.
Better services
Some detect a linkage between reviving the call for detachment by a defined group of villages combined by the same clannish expansion, and attaching their DCs to another LC; and the conference of declaring Cyrenaica a federal held in June, 2012. From this perspective, the step is a anticipatory procedure, by which these villages aim to insure access to chairs in the federal region council if it is to be formed, as they expect them to be distributed on regional bases.
Such a perspective is stressed by a clan leader who attended the Cyrenaica conference. “I was not convinced by the declaration, but None asked me for my opinion. My presence was only formal; that is only for the purpose participation registration. However, I build my position on that I support what the region other areas accept,” he said without revealing his name.
99 municipalities
Saleh Said, Under Secretary of Local Administration Ministry Said that attaching these villages with Musaid LC is an old proposal since Musaid’s LC was declared central a year ago, and consequently the issue has no meaning, especially since the government passed a decision to establish 99 municipalities, ultimately ending centralization.
“When the LCs were formed, there were no resolutions for administrative division or geographical boundaries. However, the municipalities’ new resolution includes a clause saying there will be a governmental decision defining the boundaries and geographical expansion of each municipality.”
