Libyan President calls to distribute oil wealth among citizens

Feb 15, 2009, 11:08 GMT

Tripoli - Libyan President Moamar Gaddafi, in another jab at a government he says is failing the people, called late Saturday for the country's oil revenues to be distributed directly to the population.

In a speech to the People's Congresses, a representative body of the country's villages, Gaddafi said 32 billion dollars - roughly Libya's annual oil revnues - should be distributed to Libya's five million people.

Gaddafi said the plan would help the country to overcome corruption in the government.

In his remarks he also accused consecutive Libyan governments of failing in all fields from economics to education.

'It is like a Libyan student who cannot write Arabic correctly despite spending nine years in school,' said Gaddafi.

In the past Gaddafi had frequently called for revolutionary ideas such as giving the oil wealth directly to people and dismantling the government system.

Last March, he complained about ineffective ministries and corrupt officials and said Libyans should not trust government bureaucrats to manage their money.

Although Libya decided to end its isolation in 2003 and welcome foreign oil investments on its soil, many Libyans say that they have felt no tangible development in their country.