Hospitals, hotels seek gov’t intervention to settle outstanding dues of Libya gov’t

AMMAN — The Private Hospitals Association (PHA) and the Jordan Hotels Association (JHA) have urged government intervention to settle outstanding Libyan dues that has reached some JD181 million.

Since the conflict in Libya broke out, the Kingdom has received Libyans seeking treatment and debts have been accumulating since 2012, causing many financial problems for Jordan’s health and tourism sectors, according to sector representatives.

PHA President Fawzi Hammouri told The Jordan Times that the Libyan government’s default to pay a debt of some JD71 million have had a “negative impact” on Jordanian private hospitals, as they have resorted to borrowing to pay employees’ wages and meet other financial commitments.

Hammouri called on the government to intervene by putting pressure on the Libyan government to reimburse private hospitals, given that Libya has many investment projects in Jordan.

“The government must help us as we have exhausted all ways possible to have the dues paid,” the association’s president added.

He noted that at the end of 2018, an agreement was reached under which the Libyan authorities vowed to settle their outstanding debts within four months. However, only half of the total amount was paid.

For his part, JHA President Abdul Hakeem Hindi told The Jordan Times that Libya’s debt to Jordan’s tourism and hospitality sectors, which stands at some JD110 million, has caused “severe pain” to owners of tourist facilities as many of them had to close down.

With their debts piling up, some of these owners have been legally pursued or even sentenced to imprisonment, Hakim added.

Given the epidemiological situation and the unsettled debts, Jordan’s tourism industry is “in a very bad condition”, he said.

The association’s president urged the government to utilise all means possible to put an end to this issue.

At the end of 2018, the Libyan government pledged to pay its unsettled dues to the tourism sector in less than three months. However, they have not fulfilled their promises yet, Hakim said.