Libyans await benefits of better ties with the West

Rabat: Libya's exit from diplomatic isolation has raised expectations for change among ordinary Libyans frustrated with poor services and corruption, as well as improving leader Muammar Gaddafi's standing abroad.

The regime could once tell its citizens a draconian security policy and crackdowns on dissent were necessary to safeguard the achievements of Gaddafi's 1969 Islamic Socialist revolution against foreign plots.

If people found bare shops, if sewage ran in the streets or a power cut plunged homes in darkness, blame could be laid on the West and the harsh sanctions it imposed for two decades.

"The time of living off crises is over," said Sa'ad Djebbar, deputy director of Cambridge University's Centre for North African Studies. "Now there is nowhere to hide. Gaddafi must come face to face with the reality of Libya."

Mended bridges

Libya has mended bridges with the West after it abandoned a programme of banned weapons and accepted responsibility for the 1988 Lockerbie airliner bombing.

Deals signed last month with the United States and Italy heralded an end to decades of acrimony between Libya and its one-time arch foe and its former colonial power.

Now, Libyans are impatient for the benefits of Gaddafi's peacemaking and for an improvement in living standards that a series of government reform plans have failed to deliver.

A heavy security presence makes sure any public discontent does not break out into widespread protests.

But after years cut off from the world, aspirations are growing fast as oil revenues surge and satellite TV offers a window on wealthy lifestyles in other oil producing Arab states.

Measured by per capita Gross Domestic Product, Libya ranks alongside Mauritius, Botswana and South Africa as among Africa's richest states. In reality, Libyans complain of poor schools and utilities and must cope with archaic banks and red tape.

Poorly-equipped hospitals and an exodus of doctors means those who can afford it often travel abroad for basic treatment.

"Libyans are becoming more self-confident and aware of what's going on in the world outside," said Oliver Miles, deputy chairman of the Libyan British Business Council and a former UK ambassador to Tripoli. "Expectations are rising and not being fulfilled."

Gaddafi accepts that many of Libya's ills are self-inflicted.

In speeches this year, he blamed graft-ridden state ministries for failing to manage oil wealth and said they should be abolished so that surplus oil money and decision making are handed directly to the people.

Foreigners who have spent time in the north African country say its citizens have become inured to such announcements.

"People are cynical about that now," said Miles. "They know Gaddafi likes making speeches that shock, although there is still a great deal of admiration of him and acceptance of him in the population."

Gaddafi had already proposed abolishing layers of central government and devolving power. One such plan would have given power to shabias, Libya's provincial governments, but came to nothing as budgets were not delegated, Libya watchers say.

They point out that pushing decision making closer to the people could even worsen bureaucratic foot-dragging as officials may still avoid significant decisions without approval from the top echelons of power.

Gaddafi has ruled out reform of Libya's political scene - parties remain banned and dissent criminalised. But the authorities are now tolerating a cautious public debate about how Libya should be governed.

Some efforts are being made to confront abuses by the state and Gaddafi's influential son Saif Al Islam has called on Libyans to speak up about past mistreatment.

Since the government relaxed a ban on private capital, a formal business scene has begun to emerge in Libya, including businessmen who once operated in shadowy informal markets.