Former Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha wants to carry out “a full overhaul” of Libya’s security apparatus if elected for president, he tells AFP in a new interview.
He pointed out that the country also “needs one single army, something that shouldn’t be hard under a unified government.”
The former minister served in the last government for almost three years, during which he struggled to control the armed group’s affiliated with his ministry.
He acknowledged that Libya has a “big problem regarding its southern borders”.
“The borders should be brought under control using advanced technology — but we should invest in some categories of migrants, because Libya needs qualified workers,” he said.
Bashagha believes “security goes hand in hand with economic reform” and stated that “there needs to be an urgent plan for economic reform and to strengthen the dinar against the dollar, and the private sector needs to be encouraged.”
He says bringing the country together must involve local authorities.
“Local government must be strengthened through a decentralised system, via municipalities and provincial authorities,” he said.
The presidential hopeful warned that “the elections must go ahead” otherwise “there would certainly be a political conflict and extreme polarisation, which I fear could turn into an armed conflict.”