The crucial thing for the Libyan government right now is the unfreezing of assets which are held around the world. While Europe faffs with that silly currency that we share, there is a country just across the water which is crying out for money which has been frozen by our governments.

Let us put it into context. This is the same money which the UN voted to freeze and hold to starve the Gaddafi regime of spending power, yet it is still being held, even though Gaddafi is dead and most resistance has been snuffed out.

Libya needs that money. During the joint press conference held by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and his Libyan counterpart Abdulhafiz el-Kheib, the issue was brought up repeatedly. The problem is that Libya is running out of hard cash. Essentially, it has the same problem as Greece, yet while Europe organises bailouts and loans for a cheat of a nation, the word is withholding funds from Libya. These people have just overthrown one of the most brutal dictatorships the world has ever seen. That money is theirs and the biggest worry for the Libyan government right now is the inability to pay the salaries of civil servants, something which is sure to cause disgruntlement and possibly stir up protests.

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi is steadfastly in agreement with the Libyan government. He said that he first lobbied for the unfreezing of these assets some months back during a Paris summit organized by Nicolas Sarkozy. He said then that all the stops should be pulled out to give this money back to the Libyan government and people. He reiterated that call on Monday, and said that he would continue to lobby within the structures of the EU to remove as much red tape as possible.

We cannot have a situation whereby the UN ordered the freezing of these assets to help oust Gaddafi, yet then drag its feet and potentially prejudice the current administration by setting it up to fail, just because they cannot pay salaries.

Libya is crying out for development. The Gaddafi crony construction programmes are all halted. Misurata Airport is nothing but a hangar, for example. Tripoli International’s extension programme has been halted. Social housing projects have also ground to a halt. Road works, rubbish collection… you name it; it’s stopped. And this is simply because there is no money and no money means workers and contractors (mostly foreign) cannot be paid. Libya has to rebuild its infrastructure from the bottom up, and it is going to need help.

Libya is looking to rebuild its country through help from Malta, the UK and France. Yes, Malta is in that same bracket of countries that led the NATO assault on Gaddafi’s forces. One might ask why, and the answer is that Malta helped keep Misurata alive. If that small city had fallen, then the revolution would not have succeeded. We thought we sent a few bits and pieces to that besieged city. The reality was, that we kept it alive when no one else could. One fishing boat load at a time. It is not The Malta Independent which is saying this, it was the people of Misurata, and we heard it directly from them. Malta is regarded as Libya’s greatest friend, in the region, and again, this is coming from Libyans. We should now follow through and help these people rebuild their country. The world needs to give back what is rightfully theirs.