Libyan government seeks to repossess assets

Wanted. Uganda Telecom head offices in Kampala. Libya has majority stakes in the telecommunication company. FILE PHOTO  

In Summary

• We have always been open to discussion with our partners and there was never nationalization of Libyan assets. Libyans left because the prevailing political situation [in their country].”

By Yasiin Mugerwa

Kampala. The government is in talks with Libyans to allow them repossess their assets worth $375 million (about Shs1.4 trillion), mainly in the telecommunications, banking, hotel and oil sectors.

Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj sent a team to Kampala this week with instructions to demand the return of all assets owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) and the Libyan Africa Investment Portfolio (LAIP).

Libya has majority stakes in Uganda Telecom (utl), National Housing and Construction Corporation (NHCC), Tropical Bank, Lake Victoria Hotel, OilLibya and Tamoil East Africa. The Government took over the management of some of these companies following the departure of Libyans after Western powers helped topple the then President Muammar Gaddafi.

Background
Although members of the United Nations Security Council, including the United States, South Africa and the European Union, froze assets belonging to the Libyan government, Gaddafi and his sons in keeping with the 2011 UN resolution, Uganda condemned the attack on Libya and refused to freeze any Libyan assets in the country since there were no assets belonging to the affected individuals.

Foreign Affairs sources told Daily Monitor last evening that the Libyan delegation led by Ambassador Fawzi Bouketf had three people, including Dr Jamal El-Baraj, who introduced himself as a state minister in Libya.
The Libyan team according to sources held separate meetings with government officials, including Finance Minister Matia Kasaija, Investment Minister Evelyn Anite and Attorney General William Byaruhanga.

When contacted yesterday, Ms Anite confirmed the meeting and explained that the Libyan delegation was tasked to deliver a letter from Mr Bouketf to President Museveni, requesting to repossess the shares in the companies and confirming the Libyan team. They were also told to mobilise Shs200b for their shares in utl.
The Libyan team accepted the conditions and told Finance Ministry officials that the Libyans who withdrew the money from Utl didn’t have instructions to do so.

“We have no objection as long as they get a letter from their Prime Minister and the required funds for their shareholding in companies like Utl,” Ms Anite said. “The process of getting an investor for Utl has now been suspended until further notice. The Libyans have come back and we are in the process of giving them their shares.”

She added: “As Government we don’t grab other people’s assets. We took over because the Libyans had left and we didn’t want these companies to collapse. They told us that their country has stabilised and they are ready to return and do business with the government of Uganda.”

Although the Libyans told the government that the shareholders withdrew from utl without authority, in 2017, Mr Kasaija said government had received notification from Libya’s state-owned UCom, which held 69-percent of the shares in utl, following decisions- that the company would no longer avail funding to the company and directed the resignation of all the five representatives of Ucom on the utl board.

Government took over the affairs and management of utl in 2017 after the Libyans pulled out, and on several occasions tried to get an investor but failed. For NHCC where Government controls 51 per cent, the government secured a court order to operate without Libyans on the board.

NHCC boss Kenneth Kaijuka last evening declined to comment on the matter since the Finance Minister was at the forefront of reestablishing the relationship with Libyans. Other government officials asked Attorney General to work with Foreign Affairs to ensure that the Libyans are vetted to avoid a situation of dealing with the wrong people.

Though Mr Kasaija was not available for a comment, Ministry of Finance spokesperson Jim Mugunga talked of different delegations from Benghazi, Tripoli and Dubai- all claiming authority to manage the Libyan assets in Uganda. Mr Mugunga, however, explained: “Libyans came to talk to Minister to agree on the terms for re-entry.

We have always been open to discussion with our partners and there was never nationalization of Libyan assets. Libyans left because the prevailing political situation [in their country].”

Libyan Assets
• Uganda Telecom Limited (utl)
• National Housing Construction Company (NHCC)
• Tropical Bank
• Laico Lake Victoria Hotel
• Tamoil East Africa
• OilLibya
Different view. Globally, Libya’s assets are registered under the Libya Arab Africa Investment Co (Laaico), a $5 billion undertaking under Libya Oil Holdings, Libya African Investment Portfolio and Libyan Foreign Investment Company. These business empires are owned by the Libyan government and have investments in several other African nations such as Rwanda, South Africa, Zambia, Sudan, besides those in Europe, the Middle East and the United States.

editorial@ug.nationmedia.com