Gaddafi pledges to share oil cash after corruption purge

THE Libyan leader, Muammar al-Gaddafi, yesterday accused corrupt officials of looting the country's oil wealth and said the five million population should be given the money directly.

Colonel Gaddafi urged a sweeping reform of government bureaucracy, saying most of the cabinet system should be dismantled to protect the state budget from corruption.

"Each Libyan will get directly his share of the oil money," Col Gaddafi promised a meeting of supporters and government officials. "The implementation will start at the beginning of next year."

Col Gaddafi named the justice, defence, interior and foreign ministries as the only ones which would be spared the purge of bureaucracy.

"Corruption and theft of public money will remain if bureaucracy remains," he said, citing officials at the state bank as culprits.