Malians suffer economic hardship after four years of military rule

Record ID: 1835344

  • Title: Malians suffer economic hardship after four years of military rule
  • Date: 18th August 2024
  • Summary: BAMAKO, MALI (FILE - APRIL 29, 2024) (REUTERS) TRAFFIC ICE DELIVERY MAN CUTTING ICE BLOCK WITH HATCHET DELIVERY MAN CARRYING ICE BLOCK TO VENDOR VENDOR LOADING ICE BLOCK INTO BOX VENDOR DRAPING TARPS OVER BOX (MUTE)
  • Embargoed: 1st September 2024 08:57
  • Keywords: africa burkina conflict coup d'etat faso government insurgencies lawmakers mali military niger peace politics sahel security war west
  • Location: BAMAKO, MALI
  • City: BAMAKO, MALI
  • Country: Mali
  • Topics: Africa,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA008743417082024RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Four years after the military ousted Mali’s then-president from office and came to power, many residents say the economy is worsening and constant power cuts are further hurting businesses.
    The August 2020 coup in Mali was set off by public anger with corrupt rulers backed by former colonial power France, a spreading jihadist insurgency and economic hardship. But many residents are still waiting for life to improve in the troubled West African nation.
    "The way they've handled the electricity situation is a problem. Many Malians are experiencing huge losses,” Oumar Diarra, a cabinet maker, told Reuters. “The government has to make an effort because we are suffering enormously."
    The World Bank says economic growth in Mali is expected to slow to 3.1% this year from 3.5% last year, with extreme poverty levels rising. About 90% of Mali's population lives in poverty.
    The August 2020 coup in Mali helped set off a wave of coups in the Sahel region south of the Sahara desert.
    There have been eight coups in West and Central Africa since the one in August 2020 in Mali, including neighbours Burkina Faso and Niger, which are fighting the same jihadist groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State.
    The current military rulers in Mali, who seized power in a second coup in 2021, have reneged on a promise to hold electionsin February, postponing the vote indefinitely for technical reasons.
    Allasana Ag Agaly, a silversmith, said that power cuts were affecting all households in Mali. “If the head of the family goes out in the morning and comes back at night without being able to work to bring something to his family, it will affect the children, the women and everyday life,” he said.
    Mali’s military leaders, along with those in Niger and Mali, also kicked out French and U.N. troops that had been involved in fighting Islamist insurgents for a decade, and turned to Russia for help instead.
    “Everyone agrees today that security is not everything,” said Alexis Kalambry, a political analyst in Mali. “Security, goes hand in hand with the economy, with the political order, with other aspects that allow the people to go about their business and, above all, to be able to feed themselves."
    After some initial success, last month, Russian and Malian troops suffered one of their worst losses in a battle in northern Mali that the military junta blamed on bad weather.
    Other residents say they remain hopeful, and view the current hardship as a necessary price of transition to greater independence from former colonial power France.
    “Political independence without economic independence is meaningless,” said Alkady Haidara, a resident in the capital Bamako, who remained hopeful that economic conditions would improve. “I just want Malians to be patient, because it's part of life. You have to go through a difficult time to have a brighter moment.”
    (Production: Idrissa Sangare, Cooper Inveen)
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